Only thing that seems to be missing so far....

[NMSooner'80]

That's a killer instinct. I was at the recent home games (Mizzou and Northwestern State of Louisiana). Both times, OU had a lead of at least 26 points and had it cut by at least 10.

I do hope that comes with improving team chemistry, and people finding their roles. I think that gelling as a team should keep those big leads from shrinking so fast. I also haven't forgotten the time that Lon Kruger and current OU assistant Steve Henson helped beat an OU team (1987) in Norman that had lost its edge - OU blew a 10-point lead in under 1:30 against K-State. So I never assume a game is truly "over" and I hope these kids don't mentally pack it in too soon.

 

[pnkranger]

You have to chalk some of that up to Lon's early season sub patterns. In the Missouri game, we pulled all starters with 5 or 6 minutes left. Then put them back in when it got down to 19. Promptly back to 25 .... Then all the walk ins came in with 2+ minutes left. With normal dub patrern, we win that game by 30+.

Creighton and Wisconsin though both left me scratching my head because we laid down a little bit at about the 8 minute mark.

 

[coolm]

I really think as they embrace their defensive identity this problem will iron itself out. When there's a lull ... slap those hands on the floor and pick it up a few notches.

 

[Max Power]

We haven't had a killer instinct in years. Cost us against Creighton, cost us at Texas a couple of years ago, cost us last year in the NCAA tournament.

 

[NickZepp]

To me the team is just learning defense like this for the first time. It's been a team effort really and it takes a lot And the guard depth is real limited. We've seen Austin Mankin play 6-7 minutes a game spelling time at SG. But this team is getting better every game. Once the offense comes around it'll be a real tough team to beat.

 

[scrybe]

Teams can't really exercise a "killer instinct" when they lack the talent and ability to put teams away when they get them down. That's why a killer instinct hasn't manifested itself with this team for several years.

But I believe all that will change if and when this year's Sooners become more proficient at getting the ball inside to their big men. And the Sooners will certainly need every ounce of killer instinct they can muster when they get into Big XII Conference play.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I'm not real big on the killer instinct thing. One thing I have observed about Kruger is that he seems to always be thinking long term. That is why he gave so many minutes to Cousins as a freshman. How do we feel about that now?

It appears that if he can get a few minutes experience for a player he needs to step up later in the year he will give up 10-15 points of a 25-30 point lead in a heartbeat.

That doesn't explain the Creighton meltdown or the bad opening of the second half against Wisconsin. It appeared that we lost our edge for time against Creighton and that can often lead to disaster on the road. Creighton got hot and we got cold and that was it. You have to give Wisconsin some credit. They have a good chance to repeat as a final four team. You don't lose your edge against a team of that caliber. Yes they lost to Duke but the Blue Devils appear to have the best chance of any team I have seen to beat Kentucky.

 

[jaymOU]

I'm not real big on the killer instinct thing. One thing I have observed about Kruger is that he seems to always be thinking long term."

Totally agree with this statement. I think Lon has given up some out-of-conference games because of rotations, wanting to have them "play through" some rough spots, "teach them a lesson" kind of thing.

Who knows, maybe not coach that gets paid based on W's and L's would do this, but it sure seems like he does this early in the year sometimes.

 

[MisterF]

We haven't had a killer instinct in years. Cost us against Creighton, cost us at Texas a couple of years ago, cost us last year in the NCAA tournament.

Out hasn't been good in years! Kind of hard to have killing instinct. This team is still learning how to be great.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Another thing about Kruger is that he doesn't seem to go for the 40 point wins. Unlike our hero Billy Tubbs who would have won 120-0 if he could (love the guy) or Mulkey who still has the Baylor starters on the court with a 40 point lead.

I don't think they had any illusions about Creighton when they had the big lead. Creighton had been scoring in the 100's and were playing in a very favorable environment. Don't know why we lost intensity but I have suspected that we were not in game shape at the time and were not getting a lot of help from the bench. Practice is different than games. You have a lot of stop and talk in practice so no matter how intense the practice it is still not as tiring as the continuous play in a game. Thomas particularly looked to be tired as the game went on.

 

[chuckb]

I think this "killer instinct" thing is overblown. Take the Missouri game, for example. We're good and played well but, realistically, we're not 26 points better than they are. We made a run and built up that lead but was it not reasonable to think they would make a run and cut into it? The notion that we were up 26 with 10 minutes left or whatever so we should win by 35 or something isn't reasonable. Add to that the fact that we put in all of our reserves, as we should have, and of course they're going to cut into the lead.

If we're ahead of, say, OSU by 10 at halftime, that doesn't mean we should win by 20 and it doesn't mean we lack some "killer instinct " if we don't. We're not 20 points better than them and shouldn't expect to beat them by 20. This is a game of runs and you can't count on us to make runs and not expect the other team to do the same.

 

[thebigabd]

Coach not tough....
players not tough....
killer instinct not there...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ekaKL218q_s#t=24

 

[artvandelay]

Offensive production from the point guard is the biggest problem IMO. He hasn't been what we expected this year and the guy behind him is going to take his spot if he doesn't start finishing his drives and making some of his 3's. Getting to the line is his saving grace right now.

 

[skyvue]

Offensive production from the point guard is the biggest problem IMO. He hasn't been what we expected this year and the guy behind him is going to take his spot if he doesn't start finishing his drives and making some of his 3's. Getting to the line is his saving grace right now.

He's just had a slow start, which has led to him being assigned the role of designated goat this season. Our fans pick a guy to blame for our (supposed) troubles just about every season, and some pretty darned good players have been saddled with that role over the years.

Getting to the line was Woodard's forte last season, too. 146 of his 341 points (43%) were scored at the line last year. He's a little ahead of that pace this season, but not by such a big margin that it's concerning.

He is shooting poorly from behind the arc, there's no arguing that, but his other stats aren't so far off that he can't quickly get them in shape.