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Oklahoma basketball: Sooners 8th in Big 12 Preseason Poll, but with upside

By Chip Rouse

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners shoots against Devontae Shuler #2 of the Mississippi Rebels in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners shoots against Devontae Shuler #2 of the Mississippi Rebels in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The men’s Oklahoma basketball team has a history of finishing better than its preseason ranking, and the Sooners will have some ground to make up this season after being picked to finish eighth in the conference in the annual preseason poll by the league coaches.

In recent seasons, it appears that Oklahoma and Kansas reverse rolls between football and basketball. The Sooners have been the top choice in the last four Big 12 Football Preseason Polls and in seven of the last nine seasons. Meanwhile the Jayhawks have commanded the top spot in each of the last nine Big 12 Preseason Polls in basketball.

Kansas received eight of the 10 first-place votes in the preseason basketball poll. The Jayhawks have dominated the conference in men’s basketball winning outright or sharing the Big 12 regular-season championship in 18 of the league’s 23 seasons.

Baylor, Texas Tech (last season’s co-conference champion with Kansas State), Texas and West Virginia round out the top five in this year’s preseason poll. The second five is made up of Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, K-State and TCU.

The Sooners’ average ranking in the annual preseason basketball poll conducted by the league coaches in Lon Kruger’s eight seasons at Oklahoma has been 6th place, with a high preseason ranking of No. 2 in 2015-16, the same season OU advanced to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament, led by first-team consensus All-American and national player of the year Buddy Hield. Their average conference finish under Kruger has been 5th.

Kruger’s team will go from being the oldest team in the Big 12 a year ago to one of the youngest this season following the departure of eight seniors.

The Sooners will lose 59 percent of their scoring off of the 2018-19 team, including top scorer Christian James, forward Rashard Odomes, center Jamuni McNeace and guards Aaron Calixte and Miles Reynolds.

Oklahoma does return three starters: senior forward Kristian Doolittle, junior forward Brady Manek and sophomore guard Jamal Bieniemy. Doolittle and Manek are both native Oklahomans and averaged over 10 points a game last season. Bieiemy is from Katy, Texas, and averaged close to 10 points a game over his final six games of his freshman year.

The infusion of incoming new talent at Oklahoma includes a recruiting class ranked in the top 20 by both Rivals (14th) and ESPN (20th) and rated the second best in the Big 12 by both recruiting services.

The Sooners begin the 2019-20 season on Nov. 5 at home at the Lloyd Noble Center against the University of Texas-San Antonio.

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