Big 12 Basketball: 5 biggest questions for rest of 2019-20 season

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: Freddie Gillespie #33 and Mark Vital #11 of the Baylor Bears celebrate their 78-69 win over the Syracuse Orange in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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MORGANTOWN, WV – FEBRUARY 10: Lindy Waters III #21 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

4. Which Oklahoma team will finish higher in the conference standings?

Mauro

I went back and forth with this one. I’m going to say Oklahoma State. Isaac Likelele and Lindy Waters lead the way, with Cam McGriff as a nice complement underneath. Thomas Dziagwa can light it up from beyond the arc to the tune of 41 percent. Yor Anei can be a force underneath with 11.2 PPG and adding six boards. This is a very balanced team that can score in a variety of ways. The Sooners are led by Kristian Doolittle and Austin Reaves both averaging 16 PPG. Brady Manek is also in double figures but nobody else is averaging double-digit PPG. The Sooners aren’t the most well-equipped team in the depth department either.

Stearman

Oklahoma State. They simply have the more talented roster of the two teams with an especially big edge at the guard position. Isaac Likekele and Lindy Waters have proven to be a formidable backcourt while Jamal Bieniemy and De’Vion Harmon have struggled for the Sooners. The OSU season has been a roller coaster this season so far, with some great wins and some disappointing losses, but their losses have at least all been against quality opponents. I expect OSU to pull off a couple of surprising wins in conference and barely edge out the Sooners in the regular-season standings. With both of these teams on the bubble, it is an important discussion, and the Bedlam matchups will be must-watch TV this season.

Corn

Sooner born, Sooner bred, and when I die, I’ll be Sooner dead. This may be a biased opinion, but I really think my Sooners will finish higher in the standings. My opinions not based on just Bias, you can look at two similar opponents each team has faced this season in Minnesota and Wichita State. OU beat Minnesota 71-62 this season, OSU lost to Minnesota 86-66. Both teams lost to Wichita State, OSU losing 80-61, while Oklahoma only lost by 5 by the score of 80-75. Oklahoma has three of the top seven scorers in the Big-12 currently, led by Kristian Doolittle, Austin Reaves, and Brady Manek.

I personally believe Oklahoma hasn’t played close to their best game yet with their talented freshman De’Vion Harmon not hitting his stride yet, and can score with anyone in the country. The only thing that could potentially hold them back is their youth and slow starts in games. I view them as a top 5 Big-12 team with the Kansas, Baylor, and Texas Techs of the world.

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