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Close Calls |
Of the eight games the Oklahoma men's basketball team has played thus far, six have been decided by seven points or less. The Sooners won't complain about winning games by 34, like they did in their season opener against ULM, but experience in multiple closely-contested tilts is beneficial.
"It's big because you get a chance to learn how to win close games and learn how to stay in close games and compete," senior forward Romero Osby said. "Sometimes, you're going to lose games. Sometimes, you're going to have to learn from stuff. With the Big 12 coming around and a lot of teams always ranked, you have to be ready to play every night. To get a chance to have those close games and learning how to win them has been big for us."
The Sooners were undefeated in such situations until their most recent game at Arkansas, an 81-78 loss. The Razorbacks were never quite able to take control, as OU's close-game experience showed. While the Sooners didn't pull out the win, they had the confidence to and never gave up.
"Having these tough games early on where each possession is very important like Coach is always stressing is really good for us," junior forward Tyler Neal said. "I think we're going to learn a lot from that. It's exciting. It was a tough loss (against Arkansas), but we'll bounce back and learn from it."
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Give Me a Break |
After playing its first eight games in the span of just 24 days (the last six games in a 13-day stretch), OU has 10 days off between Tuesday's game at Arkansas and its next contest Dec. 15 vs. Texas A&M in Oklahoma City. It's a welcome rest from the 24-day grind in which the Sooners were away from Norman for 10 days. In addition to having time to prepare for final exams, the break will give OU an opportunity to step back, reflect on the positives and negatives of the early season, and to make adjustments.
"Obviously, it's good from an academic standpoint because you have finals and guys can really concentrate and focus on that," said head coach Lon Kruger. "It's also good from the standpoint of being able to improve some things individually. We'll break practices out a little different. During a stretch of 11 or 12 days where you don't have a game, you can do things differently than if you're playing games every third or fourth day."
Physically, many of OU's players are anxious for a slightly slower pace following the hectic start to the year. Some, however, might prefer frequent visits to the gym to get their mind off studying.
"It's always great to have that break in the season because you get a chance for your body to rest," Osby said. "We have a chance to work on our games, work on ourselves as a team and our identity. We just have to continue to get better for a really good Texas A&M team."
The Aggies are 7-1 and are off until their game against the Sooners. The Oklahoma City All-College Classic tips off at 1 p.m. CT at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday, Dec. 15.
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Crunch Time |
As the Sooners are busy preparing for the Dec. 15 Texas A&M game in Oklahoma City, they also are preparing for an even bigger test next week: final exams. With semester-ending exams starting Monday, basketball is being put on the back burner. No games can be played, and practices are scaled back.
"I don't think anybody is getting rest this week," said junior guard Cameron Clark about preparing for finals. "Everybody is studying and we're going to be on the court some, too. It's all good. That's what we chose to do and we like it."
The pressures that accompany being a student-athlete multiply come finals week. Players want to focus on their classroom performance, but coming off a three-point loss at Arkansas on Tuesday, they know they need time to make some corrections on the court, as well.
"It's a tough time of year," Neal said. "A lot of guys will either make or break their grades this week. Especially without any games until (next) Saturday, that's a priority now. But also, when we come over here (to the practice gym), we have to focus. It's tough to balance it, but we have a bunch of bright guys so I don't think it will be too bad of a problem for us."
Last spring, eight of OU's 14 players registered at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. |
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UP NEXT
The Sooners are off until Saturday, Dec. 15, when they play Texas A&M at the All-College Classic in OKC:
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
12/15 |
vs. Texas A&M |
1 p.m. |
12/18 |
vs. SFAU |
7 p.m. |
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 Tickets | Full Schedule
 MOST RECENTLY
The Sooners defeated Northwestern State at home before suffering their first road loss of the year:
QUOTABLE
Junior G Cameron Clark
"We get a lot of time to go to the gym and work on things. That's what we need. We have a long break to finish up finals and get on the court. We're looking forward to it."
Junior F Tyler Neal
"As far as practice is concerned, we just have to keep the intensity up. (We'll) be ready to play other people. I think we've done a good job of that so far when we've had time off. These are hard-working guys, I'm proud of them so far and I think we'll get better over this week or so."
Head Coach Lon Kruger
"Obviously, we would like to play 40 minutes consistently better as it relates to moving the ball, rebounding, getting stops and taking care of the ball. I think this is a group that will keep making progress. I don't know that we're playing at a top level individually or as a group. We'll keep working at it."
TEAM NOTES
After playing six games in 13 days, OU has 10 days between contests against Arkansas (Dec. 4) and Texas A&M (Dec. 15).
The Dec. 15 All-College Classic game against Texas A&M in Oklahoma City will be OU's seventh game in nine contests away from home to start the year (most in 37 years).
The Sooners' bench has supplied 221 of the team's 550 points on the season, or 40 percent. OU's reserves have been outscored just twice in eight games.
Oklahoma's .554 field goal percentage Tuesday at Arkansas was its best in 27 games. It came in a losing effort, however, because OU allowed the Razorbacks to shoot .526 (best percentage by an opponent in 16 games).
Despite the fact that OU has registered only six fewer turnovers (107) than its opponents (113), the Sooners own a 135-97 advantage in points off turnovers.
2012-13 Game Notes
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Senior F Romero Osby
In his first non-start as a Sooner, Osby scored a season-high 22 points (most by a Sooner this year) in Tuesday's loss at Arkansas. He was 9-for-12 from the field and upped his season field goal percentage from .421 to a team-high-tying .478.
Junior F Amath M'Baye
After averaging 8.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in OU's first four games (shot .406 from the field), forward Amath M'Baye is averaging team highs of 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over the last four outings (shooting .543).
Senior G Steven Pledger
With his 12 points at Arkansas on Tuesday, Pledger moved into the No. 30 spot on OU's all-time scoring list (passed Damon Patterson and is now one point behind Terry Stotts with 1,103 points). Pledger also ranks fifth on the school's career 3-pointers list with 196 (two behind fourth-place Tony Crocker).
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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