The powers in Big 12 football and basketball usually flip flop when the seasons change. Oklahoma basketball is blowing up that history this season.
Don’t be surprised when the national polls are released next week that Oklahoma and Kansas are ranked at the top of the college basketball world when the two teams meet at historic Allen Fieldhouse on Monday. And both schools are likely to be ranked No. 1 depending on which poll you choose.
All of this assumes, of course, that the Sooners and Jayhawks survive their Big 12 season-opening contests on Saturday, and that is far from a sure bet.
Oklahoma is at home Saturday night for its Big 12 opener with Iowa State as the opponent. The Cyclones are ranked 11th and 9th, respectively, in the current Associated Press and USA Today polls. The Sooners are one of only three unbeaten NCAA Division I teams remaining this season. The Cyclones (11-1) would also be there were it not for a two-point home loss to Northern Iowa. They had won their first nine games.
The Sooners are a perfect 6-0 at Lloyd Noble Center this season, with an average victory margin of 26.3 points. Over the last three seasons, Oklahoma has lost only three times at home in 34 home dates.
Iowa State finished tied with OU for second place in the Big 12 standings a year ago. The Cyclones took two of the three games between the two teams last season, with each winning on their home court.
Although the Sooners have lost seven of their last 10 games vs. Iowa State, they are 9-1 in the last 10 played at Lloyd Noble Center.
Oklahoma has been getting it done on both ends of the court in running out to an 11-0 start to the 2015-16 season and a No. 2 ranking in this week’s USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 3 in the AP poll, which is made up of media representatives). The Sooners rank in the nation’s top 10 in both scoring offense (6th at 87 points per game) and scoring margin (+20.9, 8th in the country). And they have done it with solid defense, limiting opponents to 66.1 points per game and just 35 percent shooting from the floor, which is second best in the nation.
The Sooners are led by All-American Buddy Hield, who is averaging 24.9 points per game, who is shooting better than 50 percent on the season, but they have four starters (Hield, Jordan Woodard, Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler) averaging double digits in scoring. OU averages 10 made three-pointers per game and ranks No. 1 in the country, draining 46 percent of its three-point attempts. Five Sooners are shooting better than 45 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Iowa State has beaten 19 ranked teams in the last three years, but is just 17-74 all-time against teams ranked in the top-five nationally. The Cyclones last win over a top-five team was in January of 2012, a 72-64 win over Kansas.
Georges Niang is the Cyclones top scorer and team leader, averaging 18.8 points per game. He is second in the Big 12 in scoring (behind Hield) and has had two 30-point games this season. Iowa State has had five different players score 20-or-more points this season.
Oklahoma has not played since Christmas night in winning the Diamd Head Classic with a victory over Harvard. Playing at home in their Big 12 opener should make up for any rust that might have occurred with the week-long layoff. The players themselves will take care of the rest.
I see the Sooners pulling away in the second half and getting a double-digit win over the Cyclones. They must avoid, at all costs, looking past Iowa State to the ‘Big Monday’ Showdown with Kansas, however.
Kansas (11-1) is playing as well as any team in the country this season, which should surprise no one who follows college basketball. The Jayhawks’ only loss was to formerly No. 1 Michigan State in a game they let get away.
The Jayhawks begin the 2015-16 conference season with back-to-back home games, beginning Saturday with Baylor. That shouldn’t be an easy game for Kansas, but the Hawks are a much better team and should have more than enough to hold their home court. but the 11-time defending Big 12 champions have a similar challenge to that of the Sooners. They can’t get caught looking ahead to the showdown with Oklahoma and not take care of business against a 10-2 Baylor team that ranks 21st in this week’s Coaches Poll.
So if all plays out as expected, we should have a real barn-burner come Monday night in Lawrence, Kan. More on that contest later, but suffice to say that we should get a good glimpse not only at arguably the best two teams in the Big 12 this season, but two of the best in the country.