RPI Rankings: WVU vs. OU

[SoonerTraveler]

Current RPI Rankings:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls?poll=5

#20 .. West Virginia (18-3; 6-2)
#21 .. Oklahoma (14-7; 5-4)

I did not realize that WVU was 18-3. Huge battle at the LNC come Tuesday night.

West Virginia Schedule/Results:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/wal/schedule/

 

[Sooner-Bred]

Makes it easy to only have 3 losses when you've already played ALL 4 GAMES against TCU and Texas Tech (meanwhile, we've only played one).

They still have to play Kansas twice, Baylor twice, Oklahoma State twice, play @Iowa State, and us in Norman.

They're about to lose A LOT of games.

 

[stormspencer]

Makes it easy to only have 3 losses when you've already played ALL 4 GAMES against TCU and Texas Tech (meanwhile, we've only played one).

They still have to play Kansas twice, Baylor twice, Oklahoma State twice, play @Iowa State, and us in Norman.

They're about to lose A LOT of games.

At best, I think they go 3-5 through that 8 game stretch mentioned above....and likely 2-6. I think WV is really good at home, but I'm not sure their style of play is conducive to road games because they will, typically, get a lot more fouls called on them away from home.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

OU lost by 21 points in Morgantown. It will take more than increased foul calls to make up that difference. OU must cut down on the turnovers against WVU.

 

[stormspencer]

OU lost by 21 points in Morgantown. It will take more than increased foul calls to make up that difference. OU must cut down on the turnovers against WVU.

Agreed, but if you dig down a little into the metrics of that game, you will see that WV played a little above their heads....while OU played well below their average. I will provide a couple of examples:

• WV shot 37% from 3 while their season avg is 30%
• WV also shot 73% from the FT on 26 attempts. Their season avg is 66% from the line. And they get to the line just over 20 times/game...on average.
• They also were near their season low for turnovers....they only turned it over 9 times that night (while we had 22 TOs).

WV also had 17 offensive rebounds that game....well above their season average.

Everyone is so afraid of WV because of what happened in Morgantown....and I admit it isn't the best matchup for OU. However, my point is that I don't expect them to play as well on Tuesday because they haven't played as well away from home (from a metrics standpoint). And I also expect OU to play better at home....(i.e. less turnovers and limiting offensive rebounds). I'm a believer in "regressing to the mean". And if WV regresses to their averages and OU improves to their averages on Tuesday night....coupled with more fouls along with OU getting to the FT line more, then it will be a different outcome.

 

[usedtobe1]

I agree stormspencer. OU will play much better this game. I'm sure they want to redeem themselves for our worst loss this season.

WVU is normally a poor shooting team, and they just mauled OU and got away with it last game. The refs seem to have tightened up on their style of defense lately. Also, they normally have a tough time scoring in a half court set.

I'm anxious to see how we handle their pressure and intensity in Norman.

 

[jerry]

WVA has tremendous depth too. We need to stay out of foul trouble because their depth and bench is way better than ours. They really go 12 deep.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I don't believe anyone is actually "afraid" of West Virginia. The Mountaineers just happen to be a solid team with a very good coach; and they play a style that we don't see everyday.

According to whatever "metrics" that are used to tabulate the RPI rankings, it looks to be a close hard-fought game that could go either way. In these types of games, I would like to see the OU fans show up in large numbers to help give the Sooners a home-court advantage. OU fans SHOULD BE excited about this game. (I am.)

If both teams play their best, I think the Sooners win. It will be interesting to see the point spread on Tuesday morning.

It will also be interesting to see how the Sooners "bounce back" after two wins last week. This OU team seems to lose focus and intensity after a couple of victories.

 

[MichaelM]

It's telling that OU is 6-4 against top 50 RPI teams... and TWO of those (Baylor and OSU) were home games. Six were on the road and Butler/Wisconsin were neutral.

 

[IndySooner]

WVU is a bad matchup. They play tough defense and our guards struggle against pressure. A win tomorrow will be a great win.

 

[garyeb2]

i don't believe anyone is actually "afraid" of west virginia. The mountaineers just happen to be a solid team with a very good coach; and they play a style that we don't see everyday.

According to whatever "metrics" that are used to tabulate the rpi rankings, it looks to be a close hard-fought game that could go either way. In these types of games, i would like to see the ou fans show up in large numbers to help give the sooners a home-court advantage. Ou fans should be excited about this game. (i am.)

if both teams play their best, i think the sooners win. It will be interesting to see the point spread on tuesday morning.

It will also be interesting to see how the sooners "bounce back" after two wins last week. This ou team seems to lose focus and intensity after a couple of victories.

ou -5

 

[stormspencer]

ou -5

What that line tells me is that right now OU would be favored on a neutral floor against WV. Does that mean we are a better team?...not necessarily, but it does give us some insight as to what Vegas thinks.