worried about this game

[coolm]

I am concerned about Huggy's pressure on the ball. Aside from Woodard I dont think ballhandling is a particular strength of this team. The fact we are guard-oriented makes it a bit better - but I think we end up with a lot of turnovers and few runouts.

 

[DenverSooner]

I think you are mistaken. I think Spangler handles the ball better than most fours. I think Lattin handles the ball better than most fives. I think OU starts two PGs. I think the first guard off the bench is a poing/combo and the second is a respectable ball handler.

Finally, I think Buddy is the best player on the court and will not have turn overs like he did at OSU again this year. He will have some turn overs but not like that.



Just use Spangler in between the top of the key and mid court to break the press and then go to rim. It worked last year.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I am also worried about this game. Besides the obvious strengths of WVU (forcing turnovers, strong offensive rebounding), there is also the question of fouls and depth. When West Virginia plays, both teams tend to get a lot of fouls called. This works for WVU as they play a lot of players. Hopefully, the Sooners can stay out of foul trouble with our short bench.

On the plus side, it is good to be worried as an OU fan. We are also "worried" because there is a lot at stake. We are being treated to a Top-10 match-up inside the LNC; a big-time game inside the LNC. These are great times to be an OU basketball fan. It should be a blast inside the LNC today!

 

[j2d2]

I can only hope that our experience the last few games has made us very conscious of turning the ball over and Kruger has worked with the players to remedy that. They had better listened and learned. I hope the refs wont allow them to mug us like they did Kansas.

 

[inoref]

If we play like the last game, I'm afraid we may get beaten by 10 or so

 

[TINY]

If we play like the last game, I'm afraid we may get beaten by 10 or so

Small sample size. We had a very poor second half in Stillwater. We have probably only had about 3 such halves all season. If an unbiased bettor were laying a wager on which version of ou we will see today in norman, I'd imagine he would go with the version that has us on the cusp of a #1 ranking.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Anyone who has been paying attention should be worried. I'd be even more worried if it wasn't at home.

 

[califca]

No1 ranking is great but getting a No 1 seed in March is better.

 

[oudna]

I think you are mistaken. I think Spangler handles the ball better than most fours. I think Lattin handles the ball better than most fives. I think OU starts two PGs. I think the first guard off the bench is a poing/combo and the second is a respectable ball handler.

Finally, I think Buddy is the best player on the court and will not have turn overs like he did at OSU again this year. He will have some turn overs but not like that.

Just use Spangler in between the top of the key and mid court to break the press and then go to rim. It worked last year.

Completely agree. We've been in a funk with TOs. But we certainly have the ability to handle the press well. See last year's game in Norman. Hope we get out of it today!

 

[TINY]

Completely agree. We've been in a funk with TOs. But we certainly have the ability to handle the press well. See last year's game in Norman. Hope we get out of it today!

+1.

We have handled the West Virginia press successfully with these very players. I personally think their team last season was better, too.

 

[AdaSooner]

Small sample size. We had a very poor second half in Stillwater. We have probably only had about 3 such halves all season. If an unbiased bettor were laying a wager on which version of ou we will see today in norman, I'd imagine he would go with the version that has us on the cusp of a #1 ranking.

Exactly! I doubt if anyone on this thread would have more than mild concerns about today's game, if not for the stinker of a second half we saw against OSU.

I said before and I'll say it again. I think that game was an anomaly. The second half was easily the worst defense we have seen the entire season. This OU team faced much better point guards than Evans in the first 14 games, and not one of them got any shot they wanted because we failed to stop their dribble penetration or left them wide open for shots from the perimeter. That game would not have been close if our defense had been better, and our best player had not gone cold from deep in the second half, while giving the ball away at almost four times the rate of his previous fourteen games. No way that will happen in today's game

Call me crazy, if you want, but I'm not the least bit worried. Does OU have to play well and play smart against WVU's pressing defense. Sure, everyone does. But, they'll be playing on our turf, and this OU team has defended the home court pretty darned well this season. Our closest game was a ten point win over K-State, a team that beat us on our own floor last year.

 

[skyvue]

If we play like the last game, I'm afraid we may get beaten by 10 or so

How about if we play like we did against Villanova?

 

[Larry72]

+1.

We have handled the West Virginia press successfully with these very players. I personally think their team last season was better, too.

This WVU team is quicker and better than last years team. I hope we handle it well.
If we are down and need momentum, I would like to see Lon press them and play a lot of players.

 

[scrybe]

Lon has a lot of confidence in his team, and our players have confidence in each other. Some Sooner fans? Not so much.

 

[usedtobe1]

I think Buddy is a little embarrassed over the number of turnovers he's committed the past few games. I suspect Buddy and the entire team will be focused on this game after their recent scare.

I love these kind of games. A tough game against a quality opponent. This will be a good test.

 

[MercedeSooner]

A lot will depend on the refs - there's reason why WVU is so much better at home then on the road.

 

[coolm]

hmmmm ... apparently mistaken I was not.

 

[MsProudSooner]

A lot will depend on the refs - there's reason why WVU is so much better at home then on the road.

I'd give today's officials about a C=. We shot more free throws, but they only called 7 more fouls on WVU than on us, if ESPN's stats are right.

 

[stormspencer]

hmmmm ... apparently mistaken I was not.

Good call. I've changed my opinion on WV. They are really good this year, not only because of their effective use of "thug ball", but their halfcourt defense is better if they don't create a turnover on their press. I'm glad we made our FTs today, because they made us play their type of game.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Anybody who thought this game was going to be easy is crazy - ball handling is our weak point and we'll always have problems against any ball pressure team. WVU is the same team that blew out KU at home.

Honestly I hate these types of games at this point - that was some hard basketball to watch for most of the game. Ecstatic we won and it was really more a battle of survival but I can't wait for a more free flowing matchup on Monday.