The Road Again, Woefully

[Sooner04]

Shortly after dismantling Baylor in Waco by a score of 82-72 (it wasn't that close) more than one outlet labeled the 2016 Oklahoma Sooners as the Golden State Warriors of college basketball. With its crisp passing and deadly marksmanship from deep, the senior-laden Sooners were on top of the polls and riding high. But something changed that day. The worm turned, and for whatever reason it's stubbornly refused to shift. After that day, the Big 12 Conference stopped allowing Oklahoma safe passage. From that day, we've been AWFUL on the road.

We leaked oil the rest of the way in the Final Four season, losing three of our last five away from Norman. Following the departure of that magnificent triumvirate (Hield, Cousins and Spangler) the bottom fell out. With a thud. Totally. Completely. OUT.

In our last 32 conference games away from the hollowed-out confines of the Lloyd Noble Center we are 6-26. If you ever wondered why we have the worst cumulative record in the league over the last three seasons, well, there's the smoking gun. The Big 12 is having its way with us. My question is....what changes this year?

What does this team do that will flip that script? Will we defend well enough? Will we run sets well enough late to get quality shots in crucial possessions? Will we hustle enough for that stray carom or that loose ball? There's no denying the fact that we have NOT been up to the challenge these last three seasons. We've had our hearts ripped out and we've been boat raced. We've lost in agonizing fashion and in an embarrassing malaise. Will this be the year we turn it around?

Tonight's a good night to start. Texas is terrible. First one to 60 wins. Let's start doing something about this awful table you see below:


LAST ROAD WIN:
KU: '93
ISU: '11
KSU: '12
UT: '15
TT: '15
BAY: '16
WVU: '17
OSU: '19
TCU: '19


Why do YOU think we'll turn the tide? It's got to happen sometime, right? What does this team do to cause our opponents angst? Are we tough enough? I'll be dying with every shot either way.

Thank you for your time.

 

[daqman]

Why do YOU think we'll turn the tide?

Has to be 3pt shooting. Especially the starting guards but Doo and Manek too. Against Kstate 3pt shooting was awful for everyone not named Reaves. We MUST start making some 3s to win on the road and at home to beat the better teams.

 

[SKSooner]

When you miss as many shots as we do, you better get offensive rebounds. And we don't even try. We're one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the country (305th). It's not surprising you would shoot poorly on the road, but you have to do the other little things...and those are the things we don't do.

Last year, we were 252nd in offensive rebounding... Here's a summary of the last few years:

2020 - 305
2019 - 252
2018- 192
2017 - 116
2016 - 124
2015 - 148
2014 -137

Thus, we've gone from being a decent offensive rebounding team to a terrible offensive rebounding team in the last few years. When you're talking about getting 10% less extra possessions than an average rebounding team, and you're talking about getting 20% less extra possessions than a great rebounding team, you're not in good shape.

The bottom line is that we're going to have to get hot and make shots (in the short term), because we've proven time and time again that we can't rebound. Long term, we need to fix the offensive rebounding issue. Or is that something that can be fixed in the short term?

 

[Stikboy]

Defense. It travels. That’s why Kelvin won so much here on the road. Seems like post Hield , Kruger’s teams find a way to screw it up. Rip out hearts is right. I was out of town the Trae Young year the OU game in Austin and it seemed like OU led the whole game. Was excited, on the edge of my phone for like an hour and 45 mins but sure enough ut came back to win by 8 or 9. As bad as Texas has been, they can crank up the defense.

Tonight, I don’t care how bad Texas supposedly is. I stand by my prediction, 10% chance at the most. I’ll let the team prove me wrong. If they do, I’ll do the helicopter for five minutes straight.

 

[AdaSooner]

Better three point shooting would help, but it has to be a part of the game our players can control: DEFENSE!

I have not watched a single game this season where every player on the floor has sold out on defense for more than a minute or two. Inexperience is not an excuse anymore. The so-called newbies have been here long enough to know what to do and how to do it. If they don’t or they can’t guard anyone in a man to man, play a zone or let them watch the game from the bench.

More on this topic after the game.

 

[stormspencer]

In order to be successful on the road, it isn't "one thing". It's typically a combination of things. But if you look at the stronger teams every year who tend to win on the road, they pretty consistently do most or all of the following things:

• Play tough defense (our defense this year is ok, but it needs to get better)
• Get to the FT Line (and make them) - fortunately, this has been a strength for us this year.
• Limit turnovers (especially if you're playing a "slow pace" team like tonight where your number of possessions will be limited). And this is another strength for this team....they haven't shown the propensity to turn the ball over.
• Rebound and more importantly.....limit the other team's second chances.
• Best players (Doo, Manek, and Reaves) have to stay on the floor (no foul trouble).

What I've listed isn't anything earth-shattering, but you will find that the really good teams tend to do most or all of the above. As a side note, the Big 12 (in the bottom half of the conference) seems to be a little down this year. No more excuses, the time is now.

 

[WichitaSooner]

We are great (not simply good) in two areas: FTs and limiting turnovers. Those two areas usually bode well on the road. But they only go so far if you get killed on the glass and shoot a terrible percentage. Shot selection needs to be good, much like it was last Monday. But there is no doubt mental toughness plays a big role, because we've had a lot of road games that we have let get away in the last few minutes. 35 good minutes can be undone by five minutes of soft, lazy ball.

I expect Texas to play better tonight than they have the past few games. We can't expect them to lay another egg.

 

[schoonerdriver]

Toughness and discipline. Things we don't have but need to win on the road.

 

[oudna]

Defense. It travels. That’s why Kelvin won so much here on the road. Seems like post Hield , Kruger’s teams find a way to screw it up. Rip out hearts is right. I was out of town the Trae Young year the OU game in Austin and it seemed like OU led the whole game. Was excited, on the edge of my phone for like an hour and 45 mins but sure enough ut came back to win by 8 or 9. As bad as Texas has been, they can crank up the defense.

Tonight, I don’t care how bad Texas supposedly is. I stand by my prediction, 10% chance at the most. I’ll let the team prove me wrong. If they do, I’ll do the helicopter for five minutes straight.

10% at most

 

[Jeopardude]

Defense. It travels. That’s why Kelvin won so much here on the road. Seems like post Hield , Kruger’s teams find a way to screw it up. Rip out hearts is right. I was out of town the Trae Young year the OU game in Austin and it seemed like OU led the whole game. Was excited, on the edge of my phone for like an hour and 45 mins but sure enough ut came back to win by 8 or 9. As bad as Texas has been, they can crank up the defense.

Tonight, I don’t care how bad Texas supposedly is. I stand by my prediction, 10% chance at the most. I’ll let the team prove me wrong. If they do, I’ll do the helicopter for five minutes straight.

YouTube it, boy.

 

[stormspencer]

YouTube it, boy.

Barf.....no one wants to see that....except maybe his wife.

 

[schoonerdriver]

Toughness and discipline. Things we don't have but need to win on the road.

I enjoy being wrong, at least for tonight.

 

[Stikboy]

10% at most

Cool! It’s perfectly fine if you continue stalking my posts, I don’t mind. Kind of flattered!

 

[Stikboy]

YouTube it, boy.

Texas really isn’t that good. So will you take a moonwalk? Seriously, elated with this win and how they played. Now get greedy!

 

[Stikboy]

I enjoy being wrong, at least for tonight.

Egggggzactly!

 

[red recluse]

if someone had said before the game that bienemy and harmon would have their best games of the season, and kur would fumble a droppoff pass and still score, i would have kindly asked to please share what you got.

seriously, congrats to those fellas for bringing it in that environment, i don’t care how bad their team is or how few fans were there. jb was just so much more confident, and my confiidence in kuath continues to grow. long way to go, keep it going!