You got this OU basketball team figured out yet? Yeah, me neither. Looking at what the Sooners have accomplished on the hardwood this season, and subsequently where they've failed, it becomes clear that this is a basketball team with two personalities - good and bad.
Both Good Oklahoma and Bad Oklahoma struggle with defense but Bad Oklahoma seems to lose all sense of the concept at times. That's why Bad Oklahoma lost games at Texas Tech and Texas A&M because defense disappeared in the final five minutes. Bad Oklahoma also plays with no passion (at Baylor and Nebraska) or intensity while Good Oklahoma likes to battle, pound his chest, defend what's his and take what belongs to someone. Most people who struggle with split personalities also have the burden of not knowing when personality "B" is going to rear its ugly head. That isn't the case with the Sooners because we know when we'll see each personality. Good Oklahoma comes out at home and bad Oklahoma on the road.
Bad Oklahoma is struggling heavily (2-9, 0-4) while good Oklahoma is perfect (10-0, 3-0). But the comparison doesn't stop there. Take a look at the comparison below.
|
Category
|
Good Oklahoma (Home) |
Bad Oklahoma (Away) |
| Points Scored | 78.4 | 62.4 |
| Points Allowed | 63.8 | 69.8 |
| Turnovers | 12.1 | 11.3 |
| Rebounds | 34.5 | 29.6 |
| FG % | 45.8 | 41.2 |
| Record | 10-0 | 2-9 |
We're far enough into the season where you really can't blame the home and away difference on scheduling as the Sooners have played tough opponents both at home and away and it doesn't really matter the strength of the opponent they play on the road, they're going to tank. Oklahoma was just as bad on the road at Nebraska as they were at Baylor, Gonzaga or any other venue away from Norman including the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
Somehow they've got to figure out a way to take the type of energy that they play at home with on the road with them. With only four road games remaining in the regular season time may have run out to see that happen this season.