Why college basketball in Oklahoma has been delightful surprise through nonconference play

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Between OU and Oklahoma State men’s and women’s hoops, we expected to shoot a paltry 25% this college basketball season, with the Sooner women being the only slam dunk to be good.

But here we are, a week from the new year, and things aren’t so bleak on the Oklahoma hardwoods. Merry and bright, more like it.

The OU women (11-1), ranked No. 9, are right where we thought they’d be. The only blemish for Jennie Baranczyk’s squad was an overtime loss to No. 14 Duke.

But how about Porter Moser’s squad? The Sooner men (12-0), ranked No. 12, have been one of the most delightful surprises in all of college hoops. Yeah, yeah, we’ve seen this movie before — last season the OU men started 10-0 and still missed the NCAA Tournament — but those Sooners didn’t have Jeremiah Fears. The freshman phenom leads the Sooners in points (18.0) and assists (4.7). If Fears keeps this up, he’ll be playing in the NBA this time next year.

The OU men have a bunch of good-sounding wins — Providence, Arizona, Louisville, Michigan — but not a lot of actual good wins. As of Monday morning, OU ranked 36th in the NCAA’s NET ratings and 37th in KenPom.

More: Where is Oklahoma basketball in updated AP Top 25, new USA TODAY Coaches Poll?

OU guard Jeremiah Fears (0) tries to get past OSU guard Khalil Brantley (5) and forward Abou Ousmane (33) during the Sooners’ 80-65 win on Dec. 14 at Paycom Center.

OU’s 308th-ranked strength of schedule (out of 364 Division I teams), according to KenPom, is the reason why the computers are slower to embrace the Sooners than voters.

Things are about to get a whole lot tougher starting Jan. 4, when OU plays at No. 5 Alabama to open SEC play. Alabama is one of four SEC teams, along with Auburn, Tennessee and Florida, ranked inside the KenPom top 10.

SEC squads Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Texas are also ranked ahead of the Sooners, according to KenPom.

This is a make-or-break season for Moser. After failing to lead the Sooners to the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-college-basketball-oklahoma-delightful-110531176.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-12-24 11:05:00

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