2011 Oklahoma Basketball Predictions

2010-11 Results:

Overall: 14-18 (12-4 H, 1-9 A, 1-5 N)
Big 12: 5-11 (4-4 H, 1-7 A)
Conference Tournament: Lost in Second Round

The Oklahoma Sooners posted a 14-18 record last season. They got past the first round of the Big 12 only to be beaten by Texas in the second round. The team heavily relied on Cade Davis.

Davis, the 6-5, 209-pound guard, earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and led the team in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) while also averaging 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per contest.

Oklahoma also relied on underclassmen for much of its production throughout the season. Six of the team’s top eight scorers and five of its top eight rebounders were freshmen and sophomores. Sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald joined Cade Davis as an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection.

Roster

Returning Starters
Carl Blair
Cameron Clark
Andrew Fitzgerald
Steven Pledger

Returning Letterwinners
T.J. Franklin
Barry Honoré
Tyler Neal
Calvin Newell
C.J.Washington

Newcomers
Romero Osby
Sam Grooms
Casey Arent
Amath M’Baye
James Fraschilla

Head Coach
Lon Kruger

Key Losses

Starter Cade Davis will be gone. He was the Sooners top leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points and 5 rebounds per game. He played in 31 games and averaged the most number of minutes played. He was a vital part of Oklahoma’s offense and the Sooners will miss his contribution to the rebounding and steals department.

Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event
11/11/2011	vs. Idaho State
11/18/2011	vs. Coppin State
76 Classic
11/24/2011	vs. Washington State
11/25/2011	TBD
11/27/2011	TBD
12/2/2011	vs. Sacramento State
12/8/2011	vs. Oral Roberts
12/10/2011	vs. Arkansas
All-College Classic
12/17/2011	vs. Houston
12/21/2011	vs. South Carolina State
12/29/2011	@ Cincinnati
12/31/2011	vs. Northwestern State
1/3/2012	@ Missouri
1/7/2012	vs. Kansas
1/9/2012	@ Oklahoma State
1/14/2012	vs. Kansas State
1/17/2012	vs. Texas Tech
1/21/2012	@ Texas A&M
1/24/2012	vs. Baylor
1/28/2012	@ Kansas State
2/1/2012	@ Kansas
2/4/2012	vs. Iowa State
2/6/2012	vs. Missouri
2/11/2012	@ Texas Tech
2/14/2012	vs. Texas
2/18/2012	@ Iowa State
2/22/2012	vs. Oklahoma State
2/25/2012	@ Baylor
2/29/2012	@ Texas
3/3/2012	vs. Texas A&M
Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship
3/7/2012	TBD
3/8/2012	TBD
3/9/2012	TBD
3/10/2012	TBD

2011-12 Preview

With new head coach Lon Kruger, the Oklahoma Sooners look to pick up where they left off last season when they lost to Texas in the second round of the Big 12. Though they lost senior guard and top scorer Cade Davis, the Sooners return the bulk of their production in every statistical category. Six of OU’s top eight scorers last season were freshmen or sophomores that will be returning this year. The Sooners will also welcome five newcomers to the roster, with three of them expected to play significant roles in 2011-12.

Backcourt

The returning guards for the Sooners are juniors Steven Pledger and Carl Blair, and sophomore Cameron Clark. Pledger started 26 games and averaged 10.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists while making 62 treys and shooting a team-high .851 from the free throw line. He scored 38 points at Iowa State, tied for the most by a Big 12 player in league action. Clark started all 32 contests and averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 boards and 1.1 assists in 33.6 minutes per game (ranked eighth in the Big 12 in playing time). He averaged 13.1 points in OU’s wins. Blair started 25 games at point guard, including each of the final 22, after transferring from New Orleans. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and a team-high 4.7 assists (ranked third in Big 12).

Junior college transfer Sam Grooms is expected to share time at point guard. The nation’s third-best junior college player last year according to JucoRecruiting.com, Grooms averaged 11.1 points and 5.9 assists as a sophomore for national power Chipola College in Florida.

Frontcourt

Also back are sophomore forward Tyler Neal, senior forward C.J. Washington and senior forward Barry Honoré (6-7, 266) and senior guard T.J. Franklin (5-11, 177). Neal averaged 4.2 points, also pulling down 2.3 rebounds per outing. Washington is the team’s lone senior on scholarship and is coming off a rookie year in which he averaged 2.5 points and 3.1 boards in 11.8 minutes a contest. Franklin totaled four points and two assists in his 12 outings.

Junior forward Romero, who sat out last year after transferring from Mississippi State, was OU’s best player in practice last season. In two years at MSU, Osby averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in an average of 12.8 minutes a game. Casey Arent is the tallest player on OU’s roster. He was rated the country’s 22nd-best junior college player by JucoRecruiting.com after averaging 19.1 points and 11.4 rebounds as a sophomore for Sierra College in California.

More Big 12 Basketball Predictions

Kansas Jayhawks	Missouri Tigers
Baylor Bears	Iowa State Cyclones
Kansas State Wildcats	Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma State Cowboys	Oklahoma Sooners
Texas A&M Aggies	Texas Tech Red Raiders

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