Show Cincy Some Respect

[StatGeek]

They competed at max effort and pulled out a game they should have lost. I have a hunch we will do the same in conference play.

We have struggled against pressure defense all season long, is there any chance we will get significantly better in this area?

 

[OKUman]

NO.

 

[NormanPride]

Of course there is. The more the players see it, the better they will get at handling it. We're not a great ball handling team, but we can pass well. We just have to put two and two together to get things going. Big guys have to be able to help out with the passing rather than sitting under the basket waiting for the ball.

 

[campbest]

We have struggled against pressure defense all season long, is there any chance we will get significantly better in this area?

Maybe, but not by a lot...we just don't have the skill set at this time to handle lots of on ball pressure.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Sorry I'm not seeing the need to give them any respect, they're a mediocre team. We gave them the damn game, seeing them get weak on the floor foul after foul while they were breaking our lead up was just garbage.

 

[WTSooner]

Is OU a mediocre team? Because I think Cincy would finish very similar to where OU will finish in the Big 12.

 

[opsooner]

It's a day later and I'm still mad. Sure, Cincy played hard and I give them some respect. Bottom line, we gave them a gift and I hope we learn from it.

Can't wait until we play again so I can start erasing that loss from my memory.

Hope I don't witness a repeat performance from the football team tonight.

 

[StatGeek]

Maybe, but not by a lot...we just don't have the skill set at this time to handle lots of on ball pressure.

I tend to agree

 

[sdcloud9]

The rpi sure doesn't respect Cincinnati, OU loses by one point on the road and dropped about 15 rpi spots.

 

[thegreyghost]

they won at Pitt today

 

[skyvue]

they won at Pitt today

Mediocre! Average!

 

[sperry]

Mediocre! Average!

Pitt is another mediocre team.

 

[skyvue]

Pitt is another mediocre team.

I'm not saying Pitt is a great team at this point, but this is silly. Approached this way, eventually one ends up with just a handful of undeniably good teams, and a win (or a close loss) vs. anyone else gets dismissed because it was against an "mediocre" team.

If we'd hung on in Cincy, it'd have been a good win and would have helped us come March, should we be in the running for the tourney. Any road win is a good one, and Cincy's a strong program. Will they finish in the top 10 nationally? Very likely not, but that doesn't mean a win there wouldn't have helped us significantly.

 

[SoonerinNC]

The Cincy win over Pitt is a good milestone. It indicates that we are in the ball game against better than average teams with a good chance to win. In fact we should have won at Cincinnati.

If we can keep improving we should have a shot of at least a bubble and a chance to get in.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Mediocre! Average!

Yes they are. Lost 3 in a row and have 2 losses to Wagner and Long Beach St. Mediocre is being nice.

 

[sperry]

I'm not saying Pitt is a great team at this point, but this is silly. Approached this way, eventually one ends up with just a handful of undeniably good teams, and a win (or a close loss) vs. anyone else gets dismissed because it was against an "mediocre" team.

If we'd hung on in Cincy, it'd have been a good win and would have helped us come March, should we be in the running for the tourney. Any road win is a good one, and Cincy's a strong program. Will they finish in the top 10 nationally? Very likely not, but that doesn't mean a win there wouldn't have helped us significantly.

I agree that any road win is a good win. However, OU is a better team than Cinci without Yancy Gates. We should have won that game on paper, and we did a nice job of making it happen on the court until we melted down in the final 5 minutes. Hopefully we learn from mistakes made in this game and use it to improve from here on out.

 

[NormanPride]

The year is young. Kruger's influence will be seen more towards the end of the year when the team is playing its best ball.

 

[AdaSooner]

Grooms comments in the "Grooms hoping to learn from loss..." article gives me hope that this team can do a better job of dealing with the pressure.

Assuming the team worked on recognizing double teams sooner and avoiding the areas on the floor that pose the greatest risks for half and full-court traps, I'm optimistic that we'll see some improvements. Sam dribbled into those areas repeatedly in the Cincy game. The other players also have to do a better job of spreading the floor and giving him a passing lane or two so he can get rid of the ball before the double teams materialize.

We won't have to wait long for an answer. It will take an all-out team effort to avoid those same mistakes against Mizzou tonight.