Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma basketball: Lady Sooners get toughest draw of Big 12 openers

By Chip Rouse

SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 04: Head coach Sherri Coale of the Oklahoma Sooners during a 73-66 loss against the Stanford Cardinal during the Women's Final Four Semifinals at the Alamodome on April 4, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 04: Head coach Sherri Coale of the Oklahoma Sooners during a 73-66 loss against the Stanford Cardinal during the Women's Final Four Semifinals at the Alamodome on April 4, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

In their last outing, the women’s Oklahoma basketball faced No. 2-ranked UConn. It doesn’t get any easier as No. 6 Baylor comes calling in the Big 12 opener for both teams on Saturday.

It was probably a good thing that the Lady Sooners were playing at home at Lloyd Noble Center when they faced the now top-ranked Lady Huskies — except that no one want to lose by 24 points on their home floor. I shudder to think want it might have been had the game taken place at UConn.

The Sooners fell 97-53 to the powerhouse women’s team from Connecticut. Now they get to test their mettle against the reigning national champions and nine-time defending Big 12 champions in the Baylor Lady Bears.

Baylor comes to Norman sporting a 9-1 record, the lone loss coming against No. 4 South Carolina in a tournament in late November in the Virgin Islands. The Lady Bears have played three games away from home this year, but all on a neutral floor (in the tournament in the Virgin Islands). Saturday’s game will be their first true road game of the season.

Baylor has won 16 of the last 17 games in the series

The all-time series between OU and Baylor has been fairly even, with Baylor holding a slight 27-26 edge. But  Kim Mulkey’s Lady Bears have won 16 of the last 17 games against Oklahoma.

Sherri Coale has a 22-27 record against Baylor in 23 seasons as the OU head coach.

Oklahoma comes into the Baylor game with a 7-5 record, with all seven wins at home.

The Sooners average 80.4 points a game, nine points fewer than league-leading Baylor. An even bigger difference exists at the defensive end. The Lady Sooners are allowing opponents a Big 12-worst 76.1 points a game; Baylor leads the conference in scoring defense, giving up just 47.1 points a game.

Oklahoma has two players in the top five in Big 12 scoring: sophomore Taylor Robertson averages 19.9 points a game and ranks second in the conference, and junior Ana Llanusa is is fourth, averaging 17.8 points per game. Sophomore Madi Williams averages 13.1.

Baylor has four players averaging in double figures, but only one in the Big 12’s top 10: NayLyssa Smith, who averages 16.7.

The Lady Sooners lead the Big 12 in three-point field goal shooting and in three-point shots attempted, averaging 38 percent as a team. That sets up an intriguing matchup with Baylor’s league-leading three-point field goal defense, which is holding opponents to 22 percent behind the three-point line.

Turnovers could also become a big factor in the game. Baylor leads the Big 12 with a turnover margin of plus-8.7. The Sooners, with a turnover margin of minus-1.5, have turned the ball over more than their opponents this season.

The bottom line

Oklahoma lost both games against Baylor a year ago, by an average of 27 points. Hopefully, the Lady Sooners can keep it closer playing at home, but it will take a near flawless game by OU, and clearly their best outing of the season, to pull off the upset.

Baylor wins this game by +20.

Home/OU Basketball