Sooners -- Bears: Matchups

[BEAR SKIN]

I had been assuming that OU would fairly easily overmatch the lady Bears except for Lambert and Crockrom. However, in working up my Hoopla team for this weekend, I scanned Interactive Stats for just OU and BU, and that may not be so.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to do any in depth comparisons. Perhaps ZO and Swok have some opinions.

Post:
http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/ou.gif Talbert .......
http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/bu.gif McCormack
----strait up, pretty even, but OU has post help from Hill and BU has lots of quality help on bench (Sords, Hammerly) Scoring edge to OU, defensive edge to BU.

Forward:
http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/ou.gif Hill, Caufield (?some Dales?)
http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/bu.gif Crockrom, some Blackmon, some Richards

My guess is edge to BU unless Dales is counted as a forward.

Guard: http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/ou.gif Dales, Ross (?some Caufield?) ....
http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/bu.gif Lambert, Stratton, Fox, Collins
I've got Lambert over Dales (only since Dales has beeen somewhat inconsistent). If Fox and Collins can handle Ross, Stratton would need a superior effort to hold Caufield down, not to mention a continuation of her own hot shooting.

I'm probably off on these matchups (and certainly superficial), but it does seem that Baylor has a real shot at a W tomorrow. It is tough to scan the Stats and make a comparison; OU basically plays its starting five and one reserve, while Kim readily plays ten. Perhaps a fast paced game will be in Baylor's favor -- didn't happen at Manhattan, though.

[swok34]

hmmmmmm, Sheri Coale has stumbled onto a few tricks along the way to account for lack of height. One of those is.....expect to see Caufield posting up and defending the post....Stacey Dales can play some post. Dionne Jackson, the sixth man, is probably OU's best on-ball defender......she's learning to shoot a little, too. I, also, think we will see Steph Luce in to guard and give 3 players to come off the bench. Shannon Selmon does come off the bench for Talbert and/or Hill.....does Lauren Selmon get to play much?

OU has to turn around and travel to Ames to play Tuesday night, so that may play a factor in the fab 6's playing time. There are probably many others better versed in match-up's than I.
I don't expect OU to necessarily contain Lambert or Crockrum, but rather to contain the rest of the bunch.

[BEAR SKIN]

Lauren is still a raw freshman with a LOT of potential -- pretty shot from downtown, but needs too much time to get set.
The following is from a Baylor site: http://www.baylorfans.com/bfview.php?storyID=1746

"SISTER ACT...

"Dewey and Kathryn Selmon won't know who to cheer for on Saturday or where to sit. The couple has a daughter on each team. Shannon Selmon, a 6-1 senior forward, plays for the Sooners and Lauren, a 5-11 freshman forward, suits up for the Lady Bears. Shannon has appeared in nine games and is averaging 10.2 minutes and 0.9 points a game. Lauren has played in 11 games for the Lady Bears and averages 7.3 minutes and 2.4 points a game. They're pretty even on the boards, Lauren averges 1.8 while Shannon pulls down 1.9. A third Selmon daughter, Megan, plays basketball for Trinity University in San Antonio."

Would be great to see them in the game at the same time. Not too likely to happen unless the game gets out of hand.

[Zo31]

Swok34, I agree with you that Caufield will post up and play an important roll in the game tomorrow. She is the player that I fear most on OU' squad.

Bearskin, I agree that it is close and can go either way.

I was at practice this afternoon and enjoyed watching them prepare for the game. Several folks have told me they could not make the game and would catch it on Fox SW.

[BEAR SKIN]

Hope it remains close in the first half.
I've been searching for some chink in the "paperclips'" armor, they are so well balanced -- if one starter has an off night, one or two others always seem to pick up the slack. That made my attempt to find some favorable individual matchup somewhat futile, so I concentrated on team stats.

It seems that OU's team defense slips substantially in the second half:

Opponents scoring in second half increases by 28% overall; and by a whopping 90% in Big 12 play (only 3 games as yet).

OU's second half scoring only increases by 5% overall; and by less than 3% in Big 12 play.

PERHAPS their short bench does make them a bit more tired in the second half than their opponents.

[schooner2]

Originally posted by BEAR SKIN:
It seems that OU's team defense slips substantially in the second half:

Opponents scoring in second half increases by 28% overall; and by a whopping 90% in Big 12 play (only 3 games as yet).

OU's second half scoring only increases by 5% overall; and by less than 3% in Big 12 play.

PERHAPS their short bench does make them a bit more tired in the second half than their opponents.

And perhaps, Oklahoma's first 3 games have all been blow-outs. http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif Don't see that happening against Baylor. Might be hard to top last year's game in Waco. What a great game. Felt either team could have won that, it just happened that when time ran out, Oklahoma had the small 3-point lead.

[metromaniac]

Zo--just wondered if Caulield is the player you most fear or did it change to Ross?

[Bob_Ballew]

Metro, Caufield is still the one I fear most on OU's team. I should have known that Ross would be huge today since it was televised. She has had tremendous success in TV games this season. I'm sure glad that they are seniors. Baylor will suffer greatly from the graduation of their seniors also.