Oklahoma basketball: Sooners’ stock and star falling fast
By Chip Rouse
The men’s Oklahoma basketball team has dug itself a deep hole, one that now may be too steep to get out of.
It’s not so much that the Sooners (14-9, 9-8) are playing bad basketball. They just aren’t playing good enough at the end to get the job done.
Just a few weeks ago, this team was flying high with five wins over ranked teams, looking down at the rest of the Big 12 from second place and with a top-10 national standing.
That was then, this is now. There’s no question the Sooners are struggling. The bigger question is can they snap out of it in time to finish the season on a much more positive note.
Since Feb. 23, Oklahoma has lost to Kansas State, Oklahoma State twice and Texas last Thursday. But all four losses were by a combined 17 points.
"“I don’t think we’re playing much differently than when we won seven of eight,” said Sooner head coach Lon Kruger following the loss to Texas and reported in the Tulsa World. “We won one-possession games in the weeks prior to the last 10 days.“We need to finish games differently. We have to play for 40 minutes regardless.”"
When Oklahoma was playing well, winning eight of nine games and winning the close games, the Sooners’ defensive play was a big reason, but in the losses to Oklahoma State and Texas, defense — or, more particularly, the lack thereof — has been a main contributor to the Sooners’ recent losing skid.
“We have to correct it,” Kruger said. In OU’s last three games, their opponent has shot right at or close to 50 percent. That’s going to win many, if any, games, regardless of whom you’re playing.
As much as anything, the Sooners have lost confidence in who they are and finding ways to win instead of trying not to lose.
The irony of the Sooners recent downturn is they had learned how to play well and compensate for the absence of one of their best players when Brady Manek was out with COVID and struggled mightily for a time after his return. The past couple of games, however, the old Brady Manek seems to have gotten his mojo back and is back contributing in a major way. Yet OU has been unable to capitalize on Manek’s return to form.
Now the Oklahoma men head to the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 7 seed and an opening day date with an Iowa State team that is winless in the Big 12 but is playing much better now than they did earlier. Oklahoma has beaten the Cyclones twice and must do it one more time if they want to play to survive and advance in the tournament.
The Sooners have not made it beyond the opening game in the Big 12 Tournament in four of the past five years the tournament has been played. The conference postseason tournament was cancelled last season because of the nationwide coronavirus outbreak.
Although OU won both regular-season games with Iowa State, the games were highly competitive and the Sooners had trouble putting the Cyclones away.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN currently projects the Sooners as a No. 6 seed, while Jerry Palm of CBS has OU on the No. 8 line.
Short of winning two or more games in this week’s Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma’s unlikely to earn a higher seed in the Big Dance, but it could certainly drop further with a loss to lowly Iowa State in Wednesday’s opening round.