OU Game Observations....

[ORUTerry]

In no particular order:

1. OU did a good job of spreading out the several hundred ORU fans across Loyd Noble arena. We were in the upper section but before the game started we decided to fill in some empty seats five rows behind the bench. We did our part - I have no voice today.

2. Sylvester Spicer was dressed out and went through warm ups - but did not play. It indicates that he is either being considered to be brought out of red-shirt status or Sutton wanted a possible option for this game in case we had injuries. What do you think?

3. Turnovers were the obvious key to the game. It denied us possessions and chances to score. Even though we out rebounded them, OU's offensive rebounding also hurt - especially late in the game.

4. Bookout was unconcious in the first half. His jump hook was unstoppable. OU has some serious issues at guard; both Bookout and Gray were open numerous times down low for entry passes but the OU guards would not make the pass. That indicates an unwillingness to give up the basketball (ball hog).

5. We had trouble with OU tall guard lineup. Their length and atheticism caused a lot of matchup problems. They crashed the boards against our smaller guards. Tutt had trouble finding an opening.

6. Mickey had too many turnovers; was too careless with the ball and made several terrible passes. So did Green. They needed to adjust for OU's speed and athleticism.

7. I like our starting lineup of Ogunoye, Tutt, Green, Michalec and Owens. We also played a lineup of Ogunoye, Vealy, Green, Owens and Bluitt at one point. Sutton tried all kinds of combinations.

8. The officiating was fairly good overall. Several no-calls against OU - but that is to be expected at Lloyd Noble. Bookout gets away with a lot of shoving and moving screens. He uses his bulk to great effect.

9. We put two halves together but had too many mistakes/turnovers on a night when OU handled the ball well and also made timely shots.

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Agreed across the board, Terry. Good observations ... apparently we were watching the same game last night.

Happy New Year to you and your family and thanks for you and your son's time and effort to put together and keep together the message board. May God bless you guys for your commitment!

[OKC Eagle]

Me and ORUTex had great seats in the first row mid-court next to the TV broadcasters thanks to a client of mine. We even had a discussion with the ref during a timeout about a no call 4 step walk by OU.

I had a love/hate relationship with Mickey in the game last night. He was crucial on the boards--you really noticed when he was not in the game. But he also had 4 really horrible turnovers on pass attempts into Caleb. They were not even close. The OU defenders caught the ball each time, not just got a hand or finger on it. The baseline tournover at the end of the game was all on Bluitt. He never should have passed the ball.

Other random thoughts:

1. We did a horrible job taking care of the ball down the stretch. We did not get any good shots in the last 3 minutes of the game. OU went from 7 down with about 5 minutes left to winning by 8.

2. OU's offensive rebounding. It seemed OU had 3-4 guys under the basket every offensive shot and we only had 2. If that's the way we are going to play, we should at least get some fast break points when we do get the rebound. (Of course the refs' allowing OU to smack and push our rebounders everytime without a foul made outlet passes difficult).

3. Can somebody please set a screen for Tutt? He had his stroke down tonight but did not touch the ball enough and certainly did not shoot enough. I would like to see us clear out one side and let Ken and Caleb run the pick and roll.

4. On entry passes into Caleb, there is too often another ORU player too close. This allowed for easy double teams on Caleb and not enough separation to pass for the open shot. When teams collapse on Caleb, we should be spread out enough to have multiple open shot possibilites.

5. Worst call of the game: offensive foul on Caleb with 3 minutes left in the game. It was, I think, the first offensive foul of the game. And this after Bookout got away with murder all night pushing Caleb out of the lane and playing lead blocker on his numerous moving picks.

6. Yemi looks scared when he has the ball out on the court. He does not look comfortable at all. Fowlkes was similar although he did not get many minutes.

7. Vealy did not play enough. He looked very smooth out there. He got benched because he could not guard Bookout, but then, who could. If he grows alittle more, he will be a good #4, but I would like to see us develop him as a #3. That fits better for next year.

[Guest Rob Marshall]

OKC, you DID have quality seats last night! I wondered who those ORU fans were sitting near Bob Carpenter and the rest of the TV crew.

Like Terry, you too have some very good observations. Well done.

[ORUTerry]

Great takes Eagle....

On Mickey: I wonder if he was just trying too hard given the fact that we were playing OU? Several of the passes were just terrible - not like him to play like that.

Rebounding: Their guards really crashed the boards. They also did a lot of hand checking, over the back and shoving - no calls. The refs let them play.

The offensive foul on Caleb: The refs should have never called that given how they they had let play go the rest of the game. They interjected themselves into the game.

The turnover by Bluitt/Michalec: We ran that same set several times before so Bookout (and everyone else) knew what was coming. I will have to review my tape (I TIVO'd the game) but I thought Bookout bodied Michalec and had a hand on his back. Not sure.

Yemi played good defense on Everett in the first half. Nice call by Sutton to put size on the perimeter. Probably should have brought him back in the second half. Everett made three 3-pointers after going 0-7 from the field. He is shooting 21% for the season and had only made six three pointers total all season. Go figure.

[OKC Eagle]

One more thing:

After Bluitt missed the front end of a one and one with just a few minutes left, he was visibly beating himself up about it the next couple trips up and down the floor. I don't think he ever regained his composure after that.