Thoughts about Upcoming Sooner Game

The Horn Identity

The Horn Identity

500+ Posts
Guess we should start talking about the upcoming game with the Sooners. Random thoughts:

1. We already beat them on their home court, so should be no problem on our own court?
2. They were without Longar Longar, but I'm not sure he is a difference maker.
3. They just beat Baylor by 1 point on their home court, on an improbable 4 point play followed by an improbably 2 missed free throws. So, they are slightly worse than Baylor on a neutral court?
4. Besides a rivalry game for them, I'm sure they'd like a signature win to pad their resume for the Dance.
5. UT may be caught looking ahead to KSU?
6. Home crowd has been rocking lately with Big Monday wins against Kansas and Aggies. Can we expect the same on a Saturday afternoon against OU?
7. Are the Horns starting to read their own press clippings? Does that make them complacent or do they realize they could actually get a #1 seed if they keep it up?

I expect we might come out a bit flat and the Sooners hang with us in the first half. But, I think our talent and the home crowd allow us to pull away in the second half. Something like 74-66 Horns.
 
if you play well you will very likely win.
if you play average you still have a good chance of winning.
if you play below average we have a decent chance of winning.

the fact is you have no idea what to expect with this OU team.
 
I ma not too worried about going flat this game. The horns have been a little too willing to play to opponents level this season, but we seem to be finishing the season strong.
 
UT 65
OU 58

frown.gif
 
On paper, OU can't touch Texas in Austin.

However, OU needs this win to put them in the NCAA tournament. It can be their "statement" game, if you will.

If Texas matches that intensity (and I have no doubt they will), OU will need to look elsewhere for that "statement".
 
With Connor's improved defensive abilities this year it'll be interesting to see him match up with Longar. Longar should be able to establish whatever position on the low block he wants to have the majority of the time. However, Connor's a threat to swat shots away or at least keep enough of a hand in his face that even short turnaround jumpers won't be easy. We'll have to hope Longar isn't too proficient with a jump hook though - I haven't seen him play much this year since he was out for the games I watched OU, so I don't know if that's a part of his arsenal or not.
 
You can still see where Longar Longar is hobbled by his injury.

Frankly, I give Capel a lot of credit for showing so much patience with Longar, and developing him the way he did. Longar is a difference maker when healthy, especially against a Texas team that still has a somewhat suspect front court defensively in the low post.

However, what the right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away. I'm sure hoping it was the players' fault for that inexcusably abysmal job defending Abrams in Norman. The scouting report should tell anyone he loves shooting from the baseline, especially on the left (but on the right, too) so try to force him from there to the free throw line extended at the 3 point line. He's not nearly as good there.

OU did a horrible job of leaving Abrams alone. They didn't fight through screens. They went under them continuously. Sometimes they just flat out lost Abrams. It was abominable. I hope they do it again.

Blake Griffin is a horse. I like watching him play more than I do Beasley, although Beasley is obviously the superior talent. When Griffin's head is in the game he's a great passer. He can handle the ball very well. He's relentless on the glass, and he has a lot of touch with either his back to the basket or with his face up game. I sure hope he leaves after this year. He should. He's a lottery pick for sure, and whereever he's drafted, I think someone is going to be getting a steal.

Like A&M, OU doesn't have enough players who can dribble penetrate or create their own shot. Capel, like Quinn Snyder before him, seems to have befallen the same odd Duke point guard curse of completely unvaluing the position as a head coach. Capel could have had Tech's John Roberson if he'd pulled the trigger, but instead entered into the overrated Jai Lucas sweepstakes. Now he's bringing in Willie Warren as the point guard, which is going to be a comedy, especially if Blake Griffin sticks around after all. I'll bring my popcorn. That's a train wreck waiting to happen.

If Texas defends like they did against A&M, OU is going to have serious issues. It will be a fun test to see how lasting that defensive effort was. I'm not too worried about this game. I don't think OU has the horses. However, like any team, if they can get hot from outside and establish an inside game, they can come away with a win, especially if Texas is cold on the offensive end. I don't consider the likelihood of all of that transpiring all that good, especially since I think the crowd is going to again show up strong. I've been especially impressed with the student section. If they can keep that up for the next 3 home games, they'll have created a phenomenal amount of momentum for the next season, for both the students next year, and the program as a whole. I can't do enough to express my gratitude at all the students who have shown a strong commitment during their time at Texas, even when their peers weren't. All that time and effort is really paying off right now, IMO.
 
I'd love to see another blowout, a la Monday night vs. A&M, but I think our 'Horns are in for a dogfight, especially with Longar Longar having returned to OU's lineup.

A couple of surrealistic minutes at Baylor notwithstanding, Texas has been playing very well of late, so the odds suggest it might not be at its best Saturday.
 
Like the first poster said this would be a "statement" game for OU and would give them a push for the NCAA berth.

They got us in football "barely" and we MUST SWEEP them in BB.

Bring only the A+ game

hookem.gif
 
I just think we are gonna drop a game somewhere mainly because that would put us on an 11 game win streak.....that is tough to do in any conference. With that said, this game and the KState game are the likely ones to lose. I'm just sorda half way expecting us to come out flat at some point, shoot poorly, rebound worse, and lose a 5 point game somewhere in these last 5. I hope I'm wrong, but it's just a gut feeling.
 
Longar is on one leg. Surprisingly he has developed a pretty consistent outside shot, but when he's close to the basket he can't go up as strong as he normally would.
 
This could certainly be a trap game for us. We are coming off a big win. We could be looking foward to Big Monday. OU will be trying to get a statement win.

We should win. However, if we do not come out ready to play, we could get upset.
 
My thought is that we need to aggy these guys and win by 30. Even though they are down a bit, I still hate ou with a passion and want to destroy them.

That being said, I will take a one point win as long as we win.
 
i will say two things:

the griffin boys are impressive, even if they look like they belong in a geico commercial.

ou sucks.
 
I have been listening to Barnes and following his teams for almost 10 full years at UT. They are remarkable to me in that they don't seem to look ahead.

Example: They struggled at Iowa State, after OU and just ahead of KU. But while some people played quite poorly, others played very well.

There is no particular pattern to their horrible games. They've had some horrible efforts over the last few years, but never one when I thought that they were looking ahead.
 
Bob, I wonder about that assessment. I think in every game in which "a team doesn't show up," you will find some players performed well. E.g. Pittman against A&M this year.

Also, looking back at the last 3 or 4 years, I see the following losses or close games when Texas might have been thought to have a significant advantage going into the game, which was played right before or right after a game with huge impact on final Big 12 standings:

1) KSU in Austin last year, two days before going to College Station;

2) A one point win in Manhattan three days before facing KU in Austin two years ago (KSU finished 6-10);

3) That was followed by the three point loss in College Station 4 days before playing ou in Austin (final standings--Texas ties KU followed by OU--Texas goes into the stretch knowing it wins Big 12 by beating KU and OU, but it drops the game that didn't matter so much for final standings);

4) (I'll skip 04-05, since that was the year Texas lost Aldridge and Tucker and go on to 03-04) Texas is tied with OSU at top of league standings with 3 games to play. Texas barely beats a mediocre Tech team in Austin by 3 points before going to Stillwater for the game that would decide conference championship. After losing in Stillwater, Texas goes to Manhattan (those guys again!) and loses to finish 2 games behind OSU. I would also point out that year saw Texas cream 5th ranked Wake Forest, follow that with a 2 point home win against Nebraska, then need overtime against Missouri. All leading up to playing OSU in Austin.

I don't know for sure. But I do kind of see a pattern. Of course, road games are tough in the conference, and none of those close games or losses were to dog teams, but Texas probably should have been favored in every one of those games and in none of them did they play to their ability.

So, I say . . .

FOCUSNESS!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict TEXAS-KENTUCKY *
Sat, Nov 23 • 2:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top