When Oklahoma tips off against No. 6 Baylor (17-2, 4-2) at 7 tonight in Lloyd Noble Center, it will begin the roughest stretch of its schedule to date.
Along with Bears, four of the next five opponents the Sooners face are ranked in the top 25.
Oklahoma (12-6, 2-4) is six games above .500 but could easily find itself facing 10 losses by Feb. 7.
The Sooners? overtime loss to Texas A&M last Saturday ? like their Bedlam loss to Oklahoma State on Jan. 9 ? could become especially upsetting for Sooners fans with that knowledge in mind.
But Oklahoma has proven it can play with the best in the league. There are still lessons to be learned.
?We?ll learn, hopefully, from Saturday,? coach Lon Kruger said. ?It?s a disappointing loss. When you have a game like that on the road, a chance to win and don?t finish it? don?t get rebounds, don?t get stops, I think it got our guys attention in an appropriate way.?
These next five games offer Oklahoma an opportunity to put the nation on notice as March Madness approaches, but it?ll have to start by playing its best basketball against Baylor.
?They?re pretty good, pretty athletic,? sophomore guard Cameron Clark said. ?They?ve got a lot of athletic guys. It?s going to be tough, but I think we can get the job done.?
The Bears have consistently been one of the top basketball teams in the country this season and boasts Big 12 Preseason Player of Year Perry Jones III.
Jones, a sophomore, averages 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He leads a long athletic Baylor lineup, which averages 78.2 points per outing.
Baylor forward Quincy Acy has averaged 1.8 blocks per game in his first 50 for the Bears.
He leads their front line, which has averaged 6.26 blocks per game in Big 12 play.
?(Acy) is a very talented kid,? junior forward Andrew Fitzgerald said. ?He dunks everything around the rim ? he can tear the whole rim off. He?s a very good athlete. Me and Ro (Osby) are looking forward to the challenge.?
Fitzgerald and junior forward Romero Osby have contributed largely to the success of the Sooners this season.
Osby leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounding. He rips down an average of 3.1 missed Sooner shots per game.
Fitzgerald extended his streak of scoring double digits in Oklahoma?s last 13 games with 17 against the Aggies.
The junior from Baltimore, said his scoring streak is the product of his patience and his teammates?.
?I let my teammates dictate me getting an open shot,? Fitzgerald said. ?I try to help them get open. I try to be consistent as I can to help my team be in the best shape to win games.?
The overall series is heavily swayed toward the Sooners, who own a 37-8 record against Baylor. The Bears have only beaten Oklahoma in Norman three times in 21 attempts.
However, this isn?t the kind of Baylor basketball team the Sooners are used to playing.
Kruger recognizes Baylor as a top 10 team, but that?s not a reason for the Sooners to kowtow to the Bears.
?Our guys have a lot of respect for that, and yet we look forward to the challenge. We look forward to the opportunity, which you get a lot of those in the Big 12.?
Along with Bears, four of the next five opponents the Sooners face are ranked in the top 25.
Oklahoma (12-6, 2-4) is six games above .500 but could easily find itself facing 10 losses by Feb. 7.
The Sooners? overtime loss to Texas A&M last Saturday ? like their Bedlam loss to Oklahoma State on Jan. 9 ? could become especially upsetting for Sooners fans with that knowledge in mind.
But Oklahoma has proven it can play with the best in the league. There are still lessons to be learned.
?We?ll learn, hopefully, from Saturday,? coach Lon Kruger said. ?It?s a disappointing loss. When you have a game like that on the road, a chance to win and don?t finish it? don?t get rebounds, don?t get stops, I think it got our guys attention in an appropriate way.?
These next five games offer Oklahoma an opportunity to put the nation on notice as March Madness approaches, but it?ll have to start by playing its best basketball against Baylor.
?They?re pretty good, pretty athletic,? sophomore guard Cameron Clark said. ?They?ve got a lot of athletic guys. It?s going to be tough, but I think we can get the job done.?
The Bears have consistently been one of the top basketball teams in the country this season and boasts Big 12 Preseason Player of Year Perry Jones III.
Jones, a sophomore, averages 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He leads a long athletic Baylor lineup, which averages 78.2 points per outing.
Baylor forward Quincy Acy has averaged 1.8 blocks per game in his first 50 for the Bears.
He leads their front line, which has averaged 6.26 blocks per game in Big 12 play.
?(Acy) is a very talented kid,? junior forward Andrew Fitzgerald said. ?He dunks everything around the rim ? he can tear the whole rim off. He?s a very good athlete. Me and Ro (Osby) are looking forward to the challenge.?
Fitzgerald and junior forward Romero Osby have contributed largely to the success of the Sooners this season.
Osby leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounding. He rips down an average of 3.1 missed Sooner shots per game.
Fitzgerald extended his streak of scoring double digits in Oklahoma?s last 13 games with 17 against the Aggies.
The junior from Baltimore, said his scoring streak is the product of his patience and his teammates?.
?I let my teammates dictate me getting an open shot,? Fitzgerald said. ?I try to help them get open. I try to be consistent as I can to help my team be in the best shape to win games.?
The overall series is heavily swayed toward the Sooners, who own a 37-8 record against Baylor. The Bears have only beaten Oklahoma in Norman three times in 21 attempts.
However, this isn?t the kind of Baylor basketball team the Sooners are used to playing.
Kruger recognizes Baylor as a top 10 team, but that?s not a reason for the Sooners to kowtow to the Bears.
?Our guys have a lot of respect for that, and yet we look forward to the challenge. We look forward to the opportunity, which you get a lot of those in the Big 12.?
