OU has 2 easy games on schedule

[thebigabd]

This schedule they put together this year is absurd. Wofford and UTRGV are the only games in the non-con that look like "easy wins"....

Even the early game against UTSA is tough, and on the road. Coached by Steve Henson. Return everyone from a 20 win team and added some more size up front it looks like...

The North Texas game won't be easy either...

Notre Dame... USC... Creighton... Vandy... maybe Florida/Wisconsin/Stanford in the Bahamas, Wichita State, Northwestern... This is crazy.

Why is OU going to UTSA? I mean, they should still win this game but these guys aren't slouches and it doesn't seem like a big school like OU should be doing a road game against UTSA.


PG: Giovanni De Nicolao (6'3'' 175 - Junior)
Starting point guard in all 35 games... averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game … shot 40.4 percent from the field (109 of 270), including 34.6 percent (36 of 104) from three

SG: Jhivvan Jackson (6'0'' 160 - Sophomore)
Conference USA Freshman of the Year... All-Conference USA Second Team … Conference USA All-Freshman Team … seven-time Conference USA Freshman of the Week...averaged 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game … 18.4 points per game led UTSA, ranked fifth in C-USA and sixth among freshmen in the NCAA.. hot 43.1 percent from the field (174 of 404), including 36.8 percent (77 of 209) from three, and 76.8 percent (109 of 142) at the free-throw line...

SG: Keaton Wallace (6'3'' 170 - Sophomore)
Conference USA All-Freshman Team selection … three-time Conference USA Freshman of the Week ... averaged 11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.8 steals per game … shot 36.5 percent (139 of 381), including 33.2 (74 of 223) from three, and 74.2 percent (46 of 62) at the free-throw line

PF: Byron Frohnen (6'6'' 215 - Junior)
Starter in all 35 games...averaged 7.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game... averaged 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, while shooting 69.7 percent (23 of 33) in four postseason games.

PF: Nick Allen (6'8'' 215 - Senior)
Starting five man in all 35 contests... averaged a career-best 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game … shot 51.5 percent (119 of 231), including 42.9 (33 of 77) from three, and 67.8 (40 of 59) at the free-throw line...

 

[skyvue]

Why is OU going to UTSA?

It's a home-and-home series; we played them in Norman last season (where they gave us all we wanted).

I was hoping for an easier schedule this season. Not a cakewalk, but not one of the nation's toughest slates, which this will likely be (for our third year in a row).

 

[Laxtothemax12]

Didn't Wofford beat UNC last year?

 

[colston15]

Both of those early season road games in Texas are no-win scenarios, I agree.

But the rest of the schedule is a good thing. We'll likely be a bubble team at best next season, so a strong SOS will only help us.

I also think the strength of the OOC schedule is overstated. There's not a single consensus Top 25 team on there, unless you count UVA, who we might or might not face.

Solid schedule, but not as daunting as some have suggested. If we don't fare well against it, we probably aren't very good.

 

[skyvue]

BIf we don't fare well against it, we probably aren't very good.

Or maybe it would just mean that we weren't very good yet. This team could take a while to mesh, but lose a few early games, and we're not likely to be even a bubble team, not after the rugged Big 12 conference season.

It's college basketball. There are LOTS of good teams outside the top 25, and just four of our non-conference games are at home. OKC and Tulsa will obviously be friendly crowds but not familiar arenas, and NYC decidedly will be like a home game for Notre Dame. We also won't have many fans in the Bahamas.

 

[vbdad]

We are playing on the road so much because the stands are empty while football is still playing.

 

[sooner333]

Didn't Wofford beat UNC last year?

They did. And their best shooter, Fletcher Magee, is returning. He shot 42.8% for three on 318 attempts.

 

[skyvue]

We are playing on the road so much because the stands are empty while football is still playing.

That's no reason not to play at home. Playing on your home court and in front of even a few thousand fans can make all the difference in a tight game. Plus, the program surely makes more money from a lightly attended home game than a road game.

 

[WichitaSooner]

There is always something to gain by playing decent teams on the road. A win in those games is worth a lot more in the committee's eyes than a home win against comparable opponents. Our schedule helped us make the tourney last year and this gives us a similar opportunity. Obviously it isn't beneficial from a financial standpoint, but I don't think our program is in danger of having the lights shut off. Losing one or both of the first two games would clearly hurt, but I respect the fact that Lon doesn't load up on cupcakes that don't help you get better or improve your resume.

 

[WTSooner]

We are playing on the road so much because the stands are empty while football is still playing.

That's because they do a terrible job of scheduling the bball games around the football games. I'm sure a lot of fans would like to do both, but that takes a little planning on the part of OU bball.

 

[WichitaSooner]

That's because they do a terrible job of scheduling the bball games around the football games. I'm sure a lot of fans would like to do both, but that takes a little planning on the part of OU bball.

I completely disagree. Very seldom does the hopps team even play a Saturday game during football season, and when they do, the times don't overlap. OU offers very cheap tickets and makes things extremely easy for basketball fans. If people don't go, it's because they aren't interested, plain and simple. The sad reality is that outside diehards like many of us on this board, basketball is an afterthought for most OU fans.

 

[thebigabd]

Sometimes I wish they would play some old Big 8/Big 12 teams in the non-con... Play Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, etc every now and then. Lots of history there and I bet the fans would like that.

I think they should play Tulsa and Arkansas every year. They should just have a series with those programs indefinitely.

 

[sperry]

I'm all for a tough non-con schedule. More fun for the fans, plus that's what got us into the tourney last year.

 

[Laxtothemax12]

I'm all for a tough non-con schedule. More fun for the fans, plus that's what got us into the tourney last year.

Yes, but do you see 18-20 wins on this schedule next year? We were on a roll in December/January that got us those big non-conference wins.

 

[skyvue]

I'm all for a tough non-con schedule. More fun for the fans, plus that's what got us into the tourney last year.

Everybody's all for such a schedule until the losses start to add up. Hopefully, that won't happen this season -- it didn't last year, but we won't have TY this season -- but if and when it does, it'll be anything but fun for the fans.

I've also noticed that anytime someone suggests our non-conference schedule might be too tough for our own good, someone rushes in to decry the practice of "loading up on cupcakes" (or some other phrase implying the same thing) when, in fact, no one has suggested doing any such thing, in this thread or in any thread I've ever read on this board. There's a huge difference between playing one of the nation's toughest schedules (as we have done the past two seasons), and playing a good, solid slate of teams in the non-conference play, with a few teams sprinkled in that might serve as confidence builders. No one has suggested loading up on cupcakes.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Everybody's all for such a schedule until the losses start to add up. Hopefully, that won't happen this season -- it didn't last year, but we won't have TY this season -- but if and when it does, it'll be anything but fun for the fans.

I've also noticed that anytime someone suggests our non-conference schedule might be too tough for our own good, someone rushes in to decry the practice of "loading up on cupcakes" (or some other phrase implying the same thing) when, in fact, no one has suggested doing any such thing, in this thread or in any thread I've ever read on this board. There's a huge difference between playing one of the nation's toughest schedules (as we have done the past two seasons), and playing a good, solid slate of teams in the non-conference play, with a few teams sprinkled in that might serve as confidence builders. No one has suggested loading up on cupcakes.

I guess my reply to this would be that there is no reason to change what is working. Two years ago, our nonconference schedule had nothing to do with us losing 20+ games and missing the postseason. I guess they probably could have won a couple more games if they had replaced, say, Wisconsin and WSU with a couple home games against mid-majors, but that wouldn't have changed anything in the big picture. Plus, most of the good teams we play are part of multiyear deals (WSU, Wisconsin, USC, Creighton, etc.) You can't arrange those if you are only willing to play them in seasons when you know you will have a good, veteran team. And obviously the schedule was the number one reason we made the tournament last season.

 

[sperry]

Everybody's all for such a schedule until the losses start to add up. Hopefully, that won't happen this season -- it didn't last year, but we won't have TY this season -- but if and when it does, it'll be anything but fun for the fans.

I've also noticed that anytime someone suggests our non-conference schedule might be too tough for our own good, someone rushes in to decry the practice of "loading up on cupcakes" (or some other phrase implying the same thing) when, in fact, no one has suggested doing any such thing, in this thread or in any thread I've ever read on this board. There's a huge difference between playing one of the nation's toughest schedules (as we have done the past two seasons), and playing a good, solid slate of teams in the non-conference play, with a few teams sprinkled in that might serve as confidence builders. No one has suggested loading up on cupcakes.

I'm capable of adjusting for schedule strength when I look at OU's accomplishments. 18 wins on a difficult schedule is more impressive than 20 wins on an easy schedule, regardless of the raw numbers. I have no desire to delude myself that we're a good team simply because we played an easy non conference schedule and racked up some wins. We're a good team or we aren't, and that doesn't change based upon who we played. But what it does do is give us more opportunities to get the quality wins that the tournament committee is looking for.

 

[skyvue]

I'm capable of adjusting for schedule strength when I look at OU's accomplishments. 18 wins on a difficult schedule is more impressive than 20 wins on an easy schedule, regardless of the raw numbers. I have no desire to delude myself that we're a good team simply because we played an easy non conference schedule and racked up some wins. We're a good team or we aren't, and that doesn't change based upon who we played. But what it does do is give us more opportunities to get the quality wins that the tournament committee is looking for.

Again, I'm not saying we should play an easy schedule, as I thought I made quite clear. And I have no desire to delude myself, either. What I do have a desire to do is allow a team that lost its star, saw most of its players struggle the second half of last season and has some key new players coming in that will be counted on to contribute get its legs under it a little bit.

And if you think a team's fate is set before the season -- it's either good or it's not -- you and I have had some very different takeaways from watching sports. Many things can happen to a quality team to make the season go badly and teams exceed expectations for any number of reasons.

 

[thebigabd]

Good news on Creighton... they lost their 2 best players, both to the NBA. They will have a bunch of young, but highly rated guys having to step up this year. Could go either way, but the game is in Norman. They are a big team, but so is OU.

Bad news on Creighton... they still look good.


PG: Davion Mintz (6'3'' 180 - Junior)
-Starting point guard last year as a sophomore. Led the Big East in all games and ranked 15th nationally in assist/turnover ratio.. Led the Big East in assist/turnover ratio in league play only, as well.

SG: Mitch Ballock (6'5'' 205 - Sophomore)
Named to the BIG EAST’s All-Freshman Team... Averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a true freshman. Led Creighton with 16 points and eight rebounds in NCAA Tournament debut vs. Kansas State (3/16)..

SG: Ty-Shon Alexander (6'5'' 195 - Sophomore)
#52 player in country out of high school per ESPN, played in all 33 games for Creighton as a true freshman. Had nice games against ranked teams as a backup. Averaged 6 and 2 on the season.

PF: Martin Krampelj (6'9'' 220 - Junior)
-Averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game as a sophomore last year. Was ranked second in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (.671) and third in the BIG EAST in rebounds per game (8.1). Elite rebounder and finisher.

C: Jacob Epperson (6'11'' 210 - Sophomore)
-#75 recruit in nation out of school. Had some good games as a true freshman. 12 points and 5 rebounds against #1 Villanova, 14 points in 8 minutes against Marquette... but was a backup true freshman last year.

 

[vbdad]

I'm just telling you why the coaches schedule on the road so much during the non conference. I prefer they play at home.