Saturday night will be an emotional evening for much of the Houston Basketball staff as the Sampson family, Hollis Price, Quannas White, Bobby Champagne, and Bilal Batley, return to their former home, the Lloyd Noble Center. But I know that once the ball goes up, all attention will be on getting a Big 12 road win. Saturday night’s alright for fighting:
I studied Oklahoma’s last two games vs. Oklahoma State and Iowa State.
the daily #211 | 3/2/2024 | Archives
Oklahoma Overview
The Sooners have lost three of their last four games and welcome the Coogs to Norman for a Saturday night showdown.
Oklahoma has a talented team. Offensively, they have several guys that can hurt you on any given night, and they are one of the top defensive teams in the country. Like the Cougars, OU has very good offensive rebounders, giving them extra scoring opportunities. This will be a very tough road match-up for the beaten-up Coogs. But I suspect the team leaders will carry UH to victory, getting them even closer to a Big 12 crown.
Head of the Snake
Oklahoma doesn’t have a superstar. But they have several guys who can lead their team in scoring on any night. Javian McCollum (#2) is likely their “best player,” a big-time three-level scorer. He’s the player who made the buzzer-beater in their Bedlam win over Oklahoma State a week ago.
Their point guard, Milos Uzan (#12), does a fantastic job getting to the paint. Rivaldo Soares (#5) is a dynamic three-level scoring threat that had been their 6th man all year but started in Wednesday against Iowa State. He took Otega Oweh’s spot in the starting lineup. Oweh (#3) is a strong guard who is a great back-door cutter and a monster getting to the rim; he’s the rare guard who takes 60% of his shots at the rim.
Big man Sam Godwin (#10) is the best offensive rebounder the Coogs have faced this year. He leads the country in offensive rebounding percentage (20.6%). The UH big men will have to do a great job putting a body on him after every shot attempt.
Thinking outside the box, I’m going with super athletic forward Jalon Moore (#14) as my “Head of the Snake.” He’s the choice because Houston has struggled this season against players like him. He reminds me of Kansas forward KJ Adams and Texas forward Dillon Mitchell. All three are powerful, athletic forwards that can jump out of the gym. UH struggled against each, allowing them to get touches in the paint and use their athleticism to score easy buckets. Moore can shoot the three better than the other two guys I compared him to. The Coogs will need to know where he is at all times.
OU Offense
Oklahoma is not great offensively. They are not ranked in the top 50 in any major categories, but they have a talented group that spreads the scoring around. They are a very unselfish group and look to get the ball in the hands of whoever is hot. They struggle a bit when under pressure, and I really think “blitzing” the pick and roll and monstering the post players will give them major problems.
- They struggle when blitzed on ball screens:
OU Defense
- Side-to-side passing for the three will likely be ineffective because they tend to stick to who they are defending. The Cougars will likely have more success in the pick and roll, causing them to switch on defense. That will lead to mismatches all over the floor;
- May run some fullcourt M2M to take a few extra seconds off the shot clock;
- Ranked tenth nationally in three-point % defense (28.9%);
- 38th nationally in field goal % defense (40.9%);
- 48th nationally scoring defense (66.9 ppg);
- They don’t double-team in the post; Feed J’Wan!
- They don’t play great help-side defense. UH guards need to be aggressive driving to and looking for cutters:
