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Growth Spurt |
Oklahoma returned from a successful six-day trip in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday evening. While the Sooners picked up two wins in three tries at the Old Spice Classic, the time spent together off the court should prove valuable down the road.
"It gave us an opportunity to be around each other consistently without having to go to class and be separated," senior Sam Grooms said. "It gave us time to understand each other with a lot of new guys. It helps us in a mental aspect too, because it gives us the opportunity to figure out what this person likes to do, and that in turn goes to the court. Once you know a person off the court you'll know them on the court too."
Leaving Norman, the Oklahoma men's basketball team was already a tightly-knit group according to head coach Lon Kruger, and the trip did nothing to disperse that.
"It was a good chance to spend a lot of time together and do a lot of activities together," Kruger said. "It helps. This is a great group of guys and they like spending time together."
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M'Baye Magic |
It's unclear whether junior forward Amath M'Baye picked up any "Disney Magic" while the team was in Orlando, Fla. But after being down on himself through a couple games, M'Baye had a string of games worthy of garnering Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors, averaging 10.7 points and five rebounds over the three-game tournament.
"I was able to find my game a little more and find myself," M'Baye said. "I'm feeling good again. I'm excited to keep going and for (more) games to keep coming."
M'Baye capped his week with an exclamation point, scoring a season-high 19 points against West Virginia, playing with an aggressiveness that earned him 13 trips to the free-throw line.
"Sunday was clearly his best effort of the year," Kruger said. "I thought he played with that swagger and that confidence that he's expected to play with and that he will play with. It was nice to see him have a good game like that."
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Bouncing Back |
Things were looking good for OU after a 68-61 win over UTEP in the first round of the Old Spice Classic on Thanksgiving night. The Sooners improved to 3-0 for the third straight season and were prepared to face No. 17 Gonzaga the next day in the tournament's semifinals. The mood changed after a 72-47 loss to the Zags, but not for long. OU's attention quickly turned to West Virginia and the chance to claim third place in the tournament in a rare regular season non-conference game between league members.
"The message when you lose a ball game like that is 'Let's learn from it, let's make progress,'" Kruger said. "Otherwise it's kind of a waste of time. I thought our guys learned a lot from the Gonzaga game and played clearly our best basketball so far against West Virginia."
The hard-fought win over the Mountaineers (OU finished the game on a 15-8 run to break a 62-62 tie) proved to the team it could bounce back from a lopsided loss. To do so with just one day of preparation made it even more impressive.
"It's the difference between being 2-1 or 1-2 (in the tournament)," M'Baye said. "It's big, especially against an opponent that we're going to see in the Big 12. We're probably going to play them two or three times, and having that little edge on them is something that feels good." |
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UP NEXT
The Sooners play at Oral Roberts Wednesday and return home to face Northwestern State Friday:
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
11/28 |
at Oral Roberts |
7 p.m. |
11/30 |
vs. NSU |
7 p.m. |
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 Tickets | Full Schedule
 MOST RECENTLY
The Sooners went 2-1 at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., over Thanksgiving break:
QUOTABLE
Senior G Sam Grooms
"The bounce-back win against West Virginia was real big for us. It kind of put a taste in our mouth that we're going to be a team to be reckoned with this year and a force."
Junior F Tyler Neal
"Whenever you go somewhere out of state or out of town when you're with your team, you don't have your own way of transportation so you're - not negatively stuck with your team - but you're with your guys pretty much the whole week so it's a really good chance to get to know some of the guys better."
TEAM NOTES
OU has won 11 straight games against Oral Roberts and has outscored the Golden Eagles by an average of 25.9 points during the streak (an average 12.8 points the last four games). The Sooners are 3-0 all-time vs. Northwestern State.
Wednesday's matchup will be the first between OU and ORU in Tulsa in 17 years. The Sooners' won the last meeting played at the Mabee Center, 87-53, on Dec. 21, 1995 (the last year of the Big Eight Conference).
A win on Wednesday would be Oklahoma's second in two attempts in true road games this season (it won 63-59 at UT Arlington on Nov. 16). The Sooners won just one true road contest in each of the last three seasons.
OU's top five individual scoring performances have been turned in by five different players (19 by M'Baye, 17 by Hield, 16 by Osby, 15 by Pledger and 14 by Hornbeak).
2012-13 Game Notes
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Senior F Romero Osby
Osby was named to the five-member Old Spice Classic all-tournament team after averaging team highs of 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, and shooting a team-high .565 from the field.
Junior F Amath M'Baye
M'Baye was 5-for-6 from the field vs. WVU and recorded career highs of 9 free throw makes and 13 attempts en route to being named Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
Senior G Sam Grooms
Grooms, who led the Big 12 last season with a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, has racked up 15 assists this year against just 3 turnovers in a reserve role. His 5.0 ratio again leads the league (Baylor's Pierre Jackson ranks second with a 2.5 ratio).
SOCIAL MEDIA
Stay connected with the OU men's basketball team by following our feeds on Twitter and Instagram:
Twitter: @SoonerHoops
Instagram: @ou_mbasketball
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