OU, Tulsa agree on two-game basketball contract

[OUHoops]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.a...sketball_contract/20130703_94_B1_Somesi281524

 

[WTSooner]

Fun.

I still wish OU, OSU, TU, and ORU would have a little round robin deal each season, possibly as part of the All-College Classic. But this works too.

 

[AdaSooner]

Fun.

I still wish OU, OSU, TU, and ORU would have a little round robin deal each season, possibly as part of the All-College Classic. But this works too.

Just what I was thinking. A combination of any of those three would pack the house at the All-College every year.

 

[badger]

Coach Lon Lon talks about the matchup and Danny Manning (he's TU's coach now) here

 

[KBaden145]

Coach Lon Lon talks about the matchup and Danny Manning (he's TU's coach now) here

Like this article states, I think OU should play Tulsa and ORU every year since the travel is easy, they are in-state, and they are quality programs. I also think Wichita State and Arkansas should be on the schedule every year for some of the same reasons and I think they would be pretty natural rivalries. I would schedule home and home with all 4 so that we would play 2 of them in Norman and 2 away from the LNC. Wichita State and Arkansas would be true home and home series and the Tulsa schools would be home and home, unless we played at a neutral site (ie the All-College or at the BOk Center). Neutral site games would count as ORU/Tulsa home games in the series.

 

[NMSooner'80]

OU-Tulsa was part of the All-College a time or two. I went to the game in December of '04, when OU played TU in front of a bunch of "orange." It was like a home game for Tulsa, but OU still pulled it out, and then won the Big 12 regular season title three months later.

I'm sure the same "orange" still can't believe us lowly Gooners won the title (co-title with KU, actually) they were expected to take, while leaving OU in the dust. I could be wrong, but I've had the impression, at the All-College at least, that OSU fans think our basketball tradition is awful for some reason.

 

[KBaden145]

I could be wrong, but I've had the impression, at the All-College at least, that OSU fans think our basketball tradition is awful for some reason.

Any of them that know anything don't...

 

[BigTime]

Glad to see this!

 

[badger]

Other than Wichita State and Arkansas, are there any other mid-majors from the area we can pull in to play annually? Ones that actually care about basketball, I mean?

(ducks if there are any piggie fans in the crowd)

 

[Boomer-D]

Looks like we'll find out if recruiting Cousins and Bennett/Cole over James Woodard and D. Wright was a good move or a bad move. Although Wright had two more years of eligibility then Bennett.

 

[DenverSooner]

Fun.

I still wish OU, OSU, TU, and ORU would have a little round robin deal each season, possibly as part of the All-College Classic. But this works too.

Why in the world would OU and OSU do that for TU and ORU? It is a business and there is zero reason for OU or OSU to give those programs money and exposure. Now if ORU and Tulsa agreed to travel to Norman and Stillwater every other season in exchange for a neutral court game it might make sense. Personally, I don't get why OU would do a home and home with Tulsa. It should be two for one. The only thing I can think of is that OU wants to play in Tulsa for its fan base.

 

[garyeb2]

Why in the world would OU and OSU do that for TU and ORU? It is a business and there is zero reason for OU or OSU to give those programs money and exposure. Now if ORU and Tulsa agreed to travel to Norman and Stillwater every other season in exchange for a neutral court game it might make sense. Personally, I don't get why OU would do a home and home with Tulsa. It should be two for one. The only thing I can think of is that OU wants to play in Tulsa for its fan base.

By the time you got to your last sentence, you got to the right answer.

 

[WTSooner]

Why in the world would OU and OSU do that for TU and ORU? It is a business and there is zero reason for OU or OSU to give those programs money and exposure. Now if ORU and Tulsa agreed to travel to Norman and Stillwater every other season in exchange for a neutral court game it might make sense. Personally, I don't get why OU would do a home and home with Tulsa. It should be two for one. The only thing I can think of is that OU wants to play in Tulsa for its fan base.

I hate that line of thinking. Especially in basketball. If OU can't beat TU and ORU, we don't deserve to whine about not making the Dance at the end of the season. Period.

 

[garyeb2]

I hate that line of thinking. Especially in basketball. If OU can't beat TU and ORU, we don't deserve to whine about not making the Dance at the end of the season. Period.

I agree with you on that. I would take it another step forward. Kruger wouldn't have initiated this series if he didn't already think that he is going to beat them.

 

[sportsfan]

You can't tell already?

 

[sportsfan]

Looks like we'll find out if recruiting Cousins and Bennett/Cole over James Woodard and D. Wright was a good move or a bad move. Although Wright had two more years of eligibility then Bennett.

You can't tell already?

 

[DenverSooner]

I hate that line of thinking. Especially in basketball. If OU can't beat TU and ORU, we don't deserve to whine about not making the Dance at the end of the season. Period.

I agree that OU or OSU should typically beat ORU and Tulsa. However, in my opinion scheduling is important. Last year was a perfect example of good scheduling. OU didn't play any (or many) really bad teams. As a result OU had a solid strength of schedule but didn't risk many upsets.

To me Tulsa (and many teams like Tulsa) don't offer a big boost to strength of schedule (compared to programs like ORU) but increase the chances of an upset. I wouldn't do them any favors. If they want to schedule a two for one, I would probably do it. However, if I just wanted a game in Tulsa, I would play ORU.

 

[Boomer-D]

You can't tell already?

Since Bennett has played I wasn't going to jump to a conclusion. So, I assume you like the older Woodard and Wright better after promising freshman seasons?

 

[sportsfan]

Since Bennett has played I wasn't going to jump to a conclusion. So, I assume you like the older Woodard and Wright better after promising freshman seasons?

I think the fact that they came in and made the all conference freshman team speaks volumes, especially since OU didn't think these two would be able to contribute right away.

 

[WTSooner]

I'm not sold on the older Woodard brother. He was VERY inefficient offensively, and only accumulated solid stats b/c he attempted a lot of shots. For a comparison, he took about as many shots as Pledger did for us last season.

Just not sure which OU SG/SF types that I would trade for him. Maybe Cousins. But I think in 2-3 years, OU will be on the right side of this.