A robust begin made method to a irritating evening in Oklahoma’s SEC opener.
After constructing a pleasant first quarter lead, the No. 9-ranked Sooners turned the ball over 27 occasions and hit solely two 3-pointers in an 80-73 defeat to No. 5 Texas.
Jennie Baranczyk’s group should put that loss behind them shortly, as Sunday brings one other high 15 conflict.
Oklahoma (12-2, 0-1 SEC) heads to Knoxville to tackle the No. 15-ranked Tennessee Girl Volunteers (13-0, 1-0) at 2 p.m. (ESPN).
Bouncing again can be the secret all 12 months in convention play as everybody’s schedule is affected by ranked matchups, however Baranczyk hopes the character of Thursday’s defeat to the Longhorns will mild a fireplace below her group.
“We handed up some appears to be like that we don’t must cross up,” Baranczyk stated after the loss to Texas. “… I don’t suppose we’re as assured as we must be proper now. And so that is a kind of video games the place you sort of hope that we get our little edge again and ensuring that we all know that we will do this.
“I haven’t seen a group of ours cross up as many photographs both, after which we flip it over after. So these are the issues that can be actually attention-grabbing as all of us course of this as a result of this group is sweet.”
OU’s star guard Payton Verhulst was particularly disillusioned as a result of the Sooners dictated the tempo of the sport early in opposition to Texas, however as the sport wore on, the Longhorns have been in a position to higher assert themselves.
“I believed within the first quarter particularly we have been enjoying a whole lot of Oklahoma basketball the best way we wish to play,” she stated. “We weren’t letting their protection dictate what we did on offense. And I feel that slowly sort of modified all through the sport.”
Sunday’s contest in opposition to Tennessee will present much less of a mode conflict than the battle with Texas.
The Girl Vols need to get out and run similar to the Sooners, and Tennessee leads the nation by making an attempt 36.5 3’s a sport.
Sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper leads the best way, scoring 17.9 factors per sport, and the Tennessee protection leads the nation forcing 27.38 turnovers per sport.
Clearly, the Sooners are going to should be a lot better at valuing the basketball.
Veterans Nevaeh Tot and Skylar Vann accounted for 10 of OU’s 27 turnovers in opposition to the Longhorns, errors Baranczyk hopes her group leaders will be capable to shortly put behind them.
However that may all be for naught if the Sooners cross up as many appears to be like as they did on Thursday, which was the true crux of Baranczyk’s frustrations after the loss.
“These girls are resilient and we reply. In order that’s what I would like us to see. So I need to see us to have the ability to step in, personal what we did, not really feel sorry for ourselves,” Baranczyk stated. “… Sooner or later we’ve received to understand how good we truly are and I can’t do this for you. I don’t suppose there’s anyone that might consider on this group greater than I do… I’m actually disillusioned in the best way that we completed the sport… On the finish of the day we’ve received to compete in each possession and you may’t take one off.
“And I feel that’s most likely a part of what everybody retains telling us the SEC is all about. However we already knew that on this sport… That’s what’s unlucky.”
Each groups rank within the high 5 in tempo nationally, so there ought to be loads of probabilities for the Sooners to chop free in the event that they take the ground with confidence in opposition to Tennessee.
Oklahoma is 3-0 in true street video games already this season, however might want to prolong that begin to 4-0 to keep away from falling to 0-2 in convention play for the primary time for the reason that 1998-99 season.
“We’ve a extremely, actually good basketball group,” Baranczyk stated. “So I’m excited to see how we reply… I’m excited to see how hungry we proceed to get as a result of our greatest basketball could possibly be forward of us, no query.”
