Baylor vs Oklahoma

[Bob_Ballew]

This is going to be the game of the week for sure. Too bad it is not going to be on national TV. This game could easily go either way.

It will be interesting to see how KMR chooses to defend this OU team. I am expecting the Lady Bears to mix up a little zone with the usual man to man. The zone worked very well for Baylor against A&M on Wednesday. It might keep a few players out of foul trouble and allow for some quick double teams on CP3. The key for Baylor will be to stop the perimeter game of OU. It seems to me that when Baylor can play tough perimeter defense, good things happen. As someone mentioned in an earlier thread, Danielle Crockrom scored 41 points and pulled down 22 rebounds in a LOSS to the Aggies in College Station. The play of Chelsi Welch and Leah Rush will make a big difference in this game. Baylor can not afford to focus only on stopping Courtney. The Lady Bears will be very hungry for a win and they are playing much better at home than on the road (duh!). Their home win streak is on the line.

Baylor must get offensive production from a variety of players in order to win this game. I think if their defense is strong, their offense will come alive. KMR may have to jump start it though. I just wish they would let her suit up and play. (I bet my coach could beat up on your coach) ...my new bumper sticker. :p I hate those things. Tisdale, Davis, Scott and, where oh where is Wyatt, is going to have to produce in all stats! I am banking on Abi being very effective on the offensive end of the court during this game. She has been struggling lately and I think this is going to be her night.

Sic 'Em Bears

[swok34]

Well, fortunately for us :OU: fans, our team seems to be performing better on the road in front of loud, rowdy crowds than they do in their own friendly confines.

I'll be very curious to see how Baylor defends OU. Texas Tech actually had the right idea....i'll tell you all about it Sunday morning, oops, make that Thursday morning. Can't be giving the bell cows any secrets :D

I have a sneaky funny feeling that KMR has scoped out the best way to keep CP's butt on the chair next to Sherri. And, Sherri very well may have figured out how to sit Sophia down. Abiola vs Queen Kong? Priceless. Finesse Sophia vs brute Rush? What fun frontcourt matchups.

I've saved Leah Rush and Chelsi Welch from the swokpickedyouinHoopla,you're
gonnasuckgame, as well. I think they have a good chance to be the stars. ;)

And I really hope that Yardbird has a previous engagement in South Dakota :D
and takes Lorenzo with him.

[brolewis]

I've saved Leah Rush and Chelsi Welch from the swokpickedyouinHoopla,you're
gonnasuckgame, as well. I think they have a good chance to be the stars. ;)I've been stinking it up pretty bad in Hoopla, so I think I'll pick those two. Maybe I'll try to get an entiere OU cast for Hoopla. That'll ensure a Baylor victory!

[sybarite]

I think I will wait until after the game and say that I knew it all along.

I think Courtney will rule the paint, unless she is called for early fouls. If Courtney goes out, Baylor may well rule the paint. This is important because I expect the team with the most rebounds and points in the paint to win. Both teams have some shooters, but prefer to score inside.

I figure Leah gets Sophia. She may have foul problems with that. The unknowns may well be Ashley and Wabara.

Interesting game. I expect this series to be a split this year, regardless of who wins where. I don't think either team can beat the other twice.

[Jennifer]

I am hesitant to post this on it's own thread, but this seemsl like a good enough place.
Great article in the DMN on Courtney Paris. Lots of good quotes. I especially like the one by Gary Blair. :)
"You cannot stop her right now," said Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, who has been coaching women's basketball players since 1980. "She might be the best post player in the country right now as a freshman after only two months. I'd hate to see her as a senior. Maybe I will have graduated by then."

"I can't come and win a national championship for Oklahoma," Paris said. "But I can come here, contribute and help. It's realizing no one person can do it by themselves. It's going to take all of us."

"I remember watching her play pickup, and after two or three times down the floor, she was gassed," strength coach Tim Overman said. "You have that extra weight, and it's going to take a toll on you."

Overman let Paris and her teammate and twin sister, Ashley, a key reserve for OU, do whatever they wanted during their first two weeks on campus. But Overman said he soon required them to weigh in every Monday and Friday.

Paris is reluctant to say how much she weighed then. But she boasts about losing 30 pounds. Aerobic and weight training and watching how much she ate were the keys for her, Overman said.

"I spent my whole preseason on that stupid StairMaster," Paris said. "I still have a lot of work to do, but I think I've made big strides."
OU has a tower in Paris (http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/012106dnspoouwomen.216f6b2d.html)

[carolann]

"I spent my whole preseason on that stupid StairMaster," Paris said. "I still have a lot of work to do, but I think I've made big strides."

That's kind of how I feel about it (except that my knees can't take the stairmaster so I'm confined to the treadmill or bicycle)

[swok34]

I am hesitant to post this on it's own thread, but this seemsl like a good enough place. Great article in the DMN on Courtney Paris. Lots of good quotes.

Not me. I gave it it's own thread.

[DBLTFarmer]

This may be the best game in the Big 12 this season and we have already seen some very good ones. I wont make a pick on this game other than to say I expect it to be brutal in the paint.

On one hand I believe the only way that Baylor can stop Parish is to double and triple team her leaving Rush and Welch open. Wabara cant guard her alone and will end on the bench in foul trouble if she does. What I expect to see is Baylor to run a zone and try to control the inside and make OU beat them from the perimeter. If OU can get good ball rotation and hit their outside shots then Baylor is in trouble.

On the other end of the floor I see Baylor doing everything they can to attack CP and get her in foul trouble and off of the floor. I see Baylor setting screens to get a matchup of Sophia Young on CP and using Youngs quickness to go after Parrish.

The one thing that I keep looking at is rebounding. Tech destroyed Baylor on the boards and OU (or should I say CP destroyed Tech on the boards)destroyed Tech on the boards. I expect Baylor to be more aggressive going after boards which means going over CP to get boards which will be tough to do.

For Baylor to win they must play even ball in the paint and win the battle on the perimeter. They also must get Leah Rush or Courtney Parrish into foul trouble. Also, Baylor must win the battle on the boards.

For OU to win, they must hit their perimeter shots to open up the inside game for CP and CP must stay out of foul trouble.

[Jennifer]

Not me. I gave it it's own thread. :D :D :D

[swok34]

Brian Davis did an incredible amount of work to go pull stats...and garner all the quotes that he did. I let him know I appreciated it.

how odd, I was printing off the same (BIG XII stats) pages earlier today :D

[spooky]

Great analysis, DbltFarmer. I think you're right on about alot of things. I definitely feel like CP will get hers regardless, so we've got to key on the guards. There was a very specific defensive emphasis against A&M to play wide and get a hand in every shooter's face, and more of the same will be needed tomorrow. Every game we've lost in recent years to OU has been because a perimeter player went off - be it Jackson, Higgins, Welch or one year it was Laura Andrews with a three-pointer attack. It's crucial for Baylor's sake that no one be allowed to do it this year.

Offensively we've got to spread the floor with the posts. Rachel Allison showed off a nice little 14-foot jumper in Lubbock, and Abi hit a couple from the free throw line against the Aggies. If we can establish that area as being a threat early and keep Courtney from living down on the block, I think Sophia and Co. can truly use their speed as an advantage.

Either way it should be a packed house and a great game.

[brolewis]

Either way it should be a packed house and a great game.
Its games like these that make me glad that I have season tickets. I always ask myself why I didn't get them sooner, then I remember that I was a grad student and I had no money, so then I realize I'm talking to myself way too much, stop, and go cry in a corner.

[YCN]

brolewis, you are a very alright person, and if it means anything, you needn't go cry in a corner.

I'll lend a shoulder if you need one. I need one once in awhile myself...

[Bball Girl]

Its games like these that make me glad that I have season tickets. I always ask myself why I didn't get them sooner, then I remember that I was a grad student and I had no money, so then I realize I'm talking to myself way too much, stop, and go cry in a corner.

Talking to yourself is a sign of creativity! :D

It should be a terrific game today...I will be attending a family party at the one family member's house who doesn't have an internet connection, so I'll have to catch up on the excitement after the fact.

Baylor is a pretty physical team in a different way than OU, they contest a lot of shots and moves to the basket with a lot of speed and smarts. I do think Abiola could find herself in foul trouble. Offensively, Baylor needs to take it right at OU and see what happens. Scott needs to shoot more...she was 2-4 (isn't that right) against Tech. While I'll give some credit to Tech's defense, I saw her with some open shots and room to make herself a shot and she didn't even try it. At the forward position, OU doesn't have anyone who can match Sophia Young who doesn't need to get close to the basket to make gorgeous shots fall and who can glide in and grab the rebound before the ball knows it's coming down. I do agree that Baylor has to keep the OU perimeter kids from going off. A couple times against Tech when OU would make a run, I thought we were going to be blown out. But then OU would go into a lull, Tech would tighten up the defense and if we could shoot, the opportunity was there. Baylor has a better defense that OU's, but right now OU's offense seems more explosive than Baylor's.

Should be a fun one.

[Scamp]

OU happy to always have Paris ..."Nobody can (stop Courtney Paris)," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said. "When you're that big and you're that strong in there, what shots she misses, she gets her own rebounds and puts them back in. We're just going to bang as much as we can in there. But we don't have a big body to bang with her."

..."I hope that we can use our athleticism some in the post and make her have to guard us as well," Mulkey-Robertson said. "We'd love to run as much as we could, but I'm sure they've seen athletic teams that run more than maybe she does. But it doesn't seem to affect them."

...The other problem for defenses is Oklahoma's outside threat. With Erin Higgins, Chelsi Welch and Leah Rush, the Sooners are second in the Big 12 in three-pointers made (110) and fourth in three-point shooting percentage (34.1).

"You live and die by that," Mulkey-Robertson said. "When they're hitting their threes, man, it's hard to defend, because you've got such a presence in the paint for them now. You've got to get out there, and you've got to contest, and you've got to hope they miss some."

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/content/sports/college/2006/01/21/paris.html
Copy editors (the folks who write the headlines) must be having a wonderful time with these Paris sisters. How many HoopScoopers remember the singing Paris Sisters and their hit "I Love How You Love Me?" http://history-of-rock.com/paris_sisters.htm

[MsProudSooner]

Copy editors (the folks who write the headlines) must be having a wonderful time with these Paris sisters. How many HoopScoopers remember the singing Paris Sisters and their hit "I Love How You Love Me?" http://history-of-rock.com/paris_sisters.htm

I remember them and the song well. That makes me OLD!

[brolewis]

brolewis, you are a very alright person, and if it means anything, you needn't go cry in a corner.

I'll lend a shoulder if you need one. I need one once in awhile myself...
Thanks. We all could use a shoulder to cry on from time-to-time. Depending on how today goes, I might need one sooner than I had hoped, though. :)

[BBallFanatic]

OK.....I'm already nervous!!!!!! Why couldn't it have been an afternoon game???????

[wacokid]

The top three people in pick'em have picked Baylor so I feel better already.

[#1OUWBBFAN]

If Lea and our outside shooters show up today, this will be a great ball game.

[MsProudSooner]

Is there a gametracker for this game?

[40ishHorn]

Gametracker:

http://livestats.baylorbears.collegesports.com/livestats/data/w-baskbl/370139/gt_index.html

[YCN]

Is there a gametracker for this game?
Audio:

http://koma.no-ip.org:8005/
In MediaPlayer, paste the link into File | Open URL

Stats:

http://livestats.www.collegesports.com/livestats/data/w-baskbl/370139/gt_index.html

[giraffespots]

Audio:

http://koma.no-ip.org:8005/
In MediaPlayer, paste the link into File | Open URL

Stats:

http://livestats.www.collegesports.com/livestats/data/w-baskbl/370139/gt_index.html


OH. MY. GOODNESS. Thanks for the audio link. It is SOOOOOO much better than listening to the Baylor radio feed. There was just too much background noise. I couldn't hear anything.