Oklahoma Sooners
Wednesday, November 19, 7:00pm
Omaha
Last Season: In Lon Kruger’s third year at the helm, the Sooners went 23-10, finished second in the Big 12 to Kansas, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. They averaged 81.9 points per game, seventh best in the country, and started the same five players in every game. Those five players accounted for 77% of their scoring: Buddy Hield at 16.8 points per game, Cameron Clark 15.3, Isaiah Cousins 10.8, Jordan Woodard 10.3 and Ryan Spangler 9.8. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they were upset by #5 seed North Dakota State, 80-75 in OT.
Last Meeting/All-Time Series: Oklahoma leads the all-time series 2-1, with the most recent meeting coming in 1986 in Oklahoma City as part of something called the All-College Tournament. The Sooners won that game 106-89. CU’s lone win came back in 1921, by a score of 27-16.
Head Coach: Lon Kruger is the first head coach in history to take five Division I programs to the NCAA Tournament (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma), and with last year’s berth, has now taken each of those five schools to at least two NCAA Tournaments. He’s perhaps the greatest turnaround artist in modern college hoops, taking six programs down on their luck and turning them into contenders in quick order. In the year before his arrival as head coach at Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma, the schools combined for a 78-99 record (.441). Kruger’s teams went a combined 92-89 (.508) in his first year at those schools, 117-72 (.619) in his second year, 114-73 (.610) in his third year and 115-49 (.697) in his fourth season. He directed all six programs to 20-win campaigns and took each of the last five to the NCAA Tournament or NIT by his second year.
Top Returners: Oklahoma returns 68% of its scoring from a year ago, with four starters back from that squad. The returning starters are preseason All-Big 12 selection Buddy Hield, a junior guard (16.5 points per game), fellow junior guard Isaiah Cousins (11.0 ppg), sophomore guard Jordan Woodard (10.3 ppg, 4.6 assists per game) and junior forward Ryan Spangler (9.6 ppg, Big 12-leading 9.3 rebounds per game).
Hield was named to the preseason All-Big 12 Conference team, and for good reason: he led the team in scoring last year, and is expected to trend upward as he takes on additional shooting chances with the departure of Cameron Clark. Woodard broke the Oklahoma school record for free throws made by a freshman with 146 last year, part of a huge debut campaign that saw him take on a leading role. And Spangler, at 6’8″, managed to lead the conference in rebounding despite playing out of position at center most of the year. That won’t be a problem this year.
Key Losses: The only starter not returning is Clark, who is now playing professionally in Italy after playing for the L.A. Clippers in summer league. He was second on the team in scoring last year with 15.6 points per game, and also contributed 5.5 rebounds and 43 percent shooting from 3-point range as a senior.
Key Additions: Houston transfer TaShawn Thomas (15.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks in 2013-14) is seeking a waiver to be eligible immediately. If granted, he becomes one of the Sooners best players right away — and could make them a legit Top Ten team. The Sooners also will count on two freshmen big men to give them a better post presence than a year ago — 6’10” freshman Jamuni McNeace, who boasts a 7-foot-4 wingspan, and 6’9″ freshman Khadeem Lattin, who owns a 7-foot-1 wingspan.
McNeace is skinny at 196 pounds and could redshirt, but was rated as the nation’s 25th best center prospect and will be a player the Jays will have to tangle with either this year or next year when they return the series in Norman. Lattin, meanwhile, was an all-state selection in Texas after averaging 15.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per game while shooting 62.0 percent from the field. He’s the #72 prospect in the country as ranked by 247Sports, and should make an impact immediately.