Big 12 Basketball: 2019-20 power rankings heading into conference play
464. . 9-3. Previous: . Sooners . 6. team
Oklahoma seemingly always plays a tough out of conference schedule, and that philosophy has worked to their advantage in recent years. This year, the reviews might be more mixed, as OU does have a couple of good wins, but they have, for the most part, not looked good against the better teams on their schedule.
Coach Lon Kruger always seems to have his team play solid basketball, even when the talent isn’t off the charts. The Sooners are 4th in the nation in turnover rate, showing they value the ball as well as anyone in the conference. They are a solid defensive team, and they don’t send their opponents to the foul line often. On the other end, they are an excellent free throw shooting team in their own right. All of this adds up to a team that takes care of business when they are supposed to, but likely won’t be able to beat the top-tier teams who simply outclass them with talent.
Kristian Doolittle has been the biggest star for the Sooners so far this season. He is averaging 16.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and he has added a bit of a three-point shot to his game this season, taking two attempts per contest. Wichita State transfer Austin Reaves has been the best guard on the team, and he has taken on a big scoring load. He has shot extremely poorly from deep, however, which is surprising as the three-point shot was one of his strengths for the Shockers.
The Sooners have lacked a primary ball-handler and distributor so far this season. De’Vion Harmon was a highly touted freshman, and he is getting plenty of playing time, but he hasn’t rounded into form yet. Jamal Bieniemy played plenty of point guard last season, and he was a candidate to take a leap forward, but he has been an extremely inefficient scorer, shooting just 28.6%.
Oklahoma looks like a team that will hang around the bubble all season, but they will need to show that they can beat high-quality opponents if they plan to make the NCAA tournament. In a league filled with terrific guards, the Sooners just don’t quite match up. If Harmon improves quickly, the Sooners can make some noise. Otherwise, they just look like a middle of the pack team.