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After a heartbreaker against the Wichita State Shockers, our beloved Golden Eagles are headed to the Heart of Texas aka Waco for a three game weekend series against the Baylor Bears. The Bears are off to a rough start posting a 1-7 record so far. They opened up the year at one of those college showcases we long to be a part of. This one was at Globe Life Field, home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers. They dropped 3 games to Nebraska, Oregon and Tennessee. They followed that with win over Lamar before getting swept at home by #22 Indiana. Last night they dropped a home game to the Abilene Christian Wildcats. Offensively, the Bears seem to be struggling. The team batting average is .236, OPS is .682 and the SLG % is .341. They are averaging around 4.4 runs a game. Their strikeout rate is 28% and they strikeout almost twice as often as they draw walks. Good news could be that they average barely more than 1 HBP per game :-). Based on performance so far this year, it is hard to identify who their most dangerous hitters are. There leader at the plate is Enzo Apodaca who is batting .387 with 12 hits, 2 BB and 2 HBP. After that, the rest of the squad is batting below .300. Defensively their fielding % is .952 and they average 1.75 errors a game which could be contributing to a disappointing start to the season. Team ERA is 6.3 while they give up 6.8 runs per game so unearned runs are about a half a run per game. Baylor hasn't published game notes yet so I can't tell who we will be facing. Heck the Baylor coach may not know. They have had several instances where the starting pitcher didn't last more than 2 or 3 innings so he may still be sorting out his rotation. Despite their struggles so far, this is still a Power 5 squad and I'm sure there is more talent on the roster than season to date results would indicate. I'm sure that Coach Fulmer and the team will not take the Bears lightly. That having been said, this appears to be a great opportunity to grab some Power 5 wins and strengthen ORU's resume. I am attending all 3 games in Waco. I will have my oldest daughter and her boyfriend on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully on Sunday my youngest son will join me. I'm in section 104 row 4 for all three games. If you are able to attend any of the games please come by and say hi.

With South Dakota's upset of NDSU Thursday night, neither spot in the Friday 8-vs-9 play-in game is certain yet. An ORU win over UMKC Sunday could STILL doom the Golden Eagles (who would finish at 6-10 in conference play) to that 8/9 play-in game, if Denver (in 7th Place currently at 6-9) wins at St. Thomas on Saturday, locking up 7th Place. Any other outcome for South Dakota and Denver on Saturday, coupled with a Golden Eagles win Sunday, puts ORU at worst in a 3-way tie for 7th Place, with all the tie-breaker advantages. A 7-Seed in Sioux Falls means not playing until Saturday, where an upset victory in the 2-vs-7 game earns a day off on Sunday before the Monday semi's. A loss by ORU to UMKC on Sunday means finishing no better than 8th Place and a berth in that dreaded 8-vs-9 game on Friday, where a subsequent win would earn a showdown with No. 1 South Dakota State on Saturday. If ORU does lose Sunday to UMKC, they need to approach Sioux Falls as two separate, 2-game tourneys: win the first 2-game tournament Friday and Saturday, earn a day off, then it's just another 2-day tournament to win a date in the NCAA First Four in Dayton. Easy, right?

I've had a chance to watch a couple games that included our old nemesis from NDSU, Grant Nelson. After last season he transferred from NDSU to Alabama, who currently is ranked #14 in the AP poll. He appears to be doing well - started every game, averages 26 minutes pt per contest, leads the team in rebounds, has had 44 blocks on the season, and at 12.3 ppg is third highest scorer on the team. He's definitely an impact player. We bagged on Nelson's game a bit in the conference championship game thread last year, but, like Max Abmas at Texas, it seems he is capable of playing and thriving in a more demanding role than he had at NDSU. It must have taken some adjustment for a young man to move from the frozen north to the deep south . . .

So Kansas City whipped up on Denver last night....which means an ORU win over the Roos on Sunday would put us in the 7 spot?....is that correct? I guess playing UND would be better than SDSU and also avoiding the play in game....but honestly TheEagleman isnt very hopeful that we can beat a hot Kansas City team at Mabee Center....they have won 5 in a row and ORU has lost 6 in a row....those are powerful stats....but KC isn't Duke....so there's always a chance.....praying that the Good Guys show up with some defense and pride in the final home game of the season.....GO BLUE!!!

Several have posted that BIG changes are needed this off season, the only big change options are coach and players. It appears most still have confidence in coach, so he'll be back. We may change an asst coach, but players don't come to a school, or leave because of an asst coach, they develop the initial relationship, but the head guy is who makes or breaks the deal. That leaves player changes; we know DJ and Kareem are out of eligibility, that leaves 2 starter positions to fill. Isaac and Bedford are the big question marks, if we lose one or both the task of replacing 3-4 starters is a BIG problem. This year's team lost a lot of the previous season, but still had 3 veterans we knew could play and Bedford was a very pleasant surprise. If we lose Bedford and Isaac next year could be very challenging as its reasonable to get a good player in the portal, or to get a guy that is surprise and plays better than expected like Bedford but getting 4 is unlikely. Most first-year guys in a program need a year or 2 like Herron or Jones. It seems to me coach's first and most important job is getting a fence up around the guys he wants back, he has to keep Isaac and Bedford and then work the portal and jucos. It's going to be a lot tougher to recruit after an 11-win year as opposed to 2 NCAA tourneys in 3 years. Coach has a crucial off season that could determine the future direction of the program for some time ahead of him. HCRS has waited a long time to be a head coach, now is his opportunity to make the team his own. Go get'em coach!

James Cruise let me know that Derrick (DT) Taylor passed away. DT played for Bill Self. He had been feeling sick for a couple of days and fell in the bathroom and died. He is survived by his wife, Nadia Green-Taylor and their children. They live in Tulsa. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Sleep in...skip church....go to Mabee Center and watch the basketball team go for SEVEN losses in a row.....sounds like a plan.....

They came up with a new way to get students to the game. Those who come and sit in the student section will each receive $10 in Sodexo bucks (which can be used for food purchases in all of the campus eateries). And of course, Sunday is the ever-popular Diaper Derby!!!!

Yes praying for peace for his family. Derrick was a great forward and was the go-to post scorer on his ORU teams.

Fixed it!!

@Otis 83, it looks like you're giving @TrueBlue82 a run for his money as the statistics guru!

I would think the head coach would get at least 3 years as pretty costly to fire him and assistant coaches and hire brand new staff. If he loses Bedford and Isaac before next season it could be a very long year. Not that this year has not been. Sometimes going from the main recruiter to the head coach can be a tough transition with some growing pains. To have to get 3 or 4 impact guys that can just step right in and play is not ideal for any school. Maybe get a couple of Jucos that can step in and play. It makes it harder now where kids can just go school to school without sitting for a year. Tulsa will go through the same type of thing this off season as bad team but with a very good freshman in PJ Haggerty. The big schools will be circling as soon as season over with NIL offers. Can Tulsa keep him? If not they will be in for another very long season.