The OU Sooner basketball season kicked off on November 3. They have since gone 9-6 in non-conference play, not a perfect start to the season. The Sooner nation was not happy to see the Sooners lose the conference opener 91-60 against the Baylor Bears. However, things are looking up as they defeated the OSU Cowboys 62-57 in an all out battle that ended in overtime and defeated a good defensive team, the Missouri Tigers 66-61. The Sooners win streak at home as of the Missouri game is still intact.

Coach Jeff Capel has two very talented McDonald’s All-American freshman players who are starting to develop a rhythm on the court. Freshman forward Tiny Gallon is averaging 12 points a game. The young man is on a path to shatter many records (and a few backboards) at OU in rebounding and scoring. He did not have a great game against Missouri as he failed to score in the game.

Freshman guard Tommy Mason-Griffin’s numbers are climbing in the assists category, which will be an asset as conference play heats up. Mason-Griffin scored a 3-pointer to turn the tide in the Sooner’s favor against OSU. Mason-Griffin does have a great 3-point shot and can get to the rim, when he faces tough situations, but he needs to work on ball handling and turnovers.

Senior guard Tony Crocker’s offensive contributions to the team were missed in the Missouri game when he went out within the first two and a half minutes of the first half with an ankle injury. Crocker did not return until late in the second half with 12 minutes and 55 seconds left in the game. Coach Capel had his ankle wrapped and taped and the young man was in almost a full three minutes to give players Cade Davis and Willie Warren a break.

The Sooners have had cold starts in many of their games in late December and in early January. This may prove to be a problem as they face top ranked teams such as Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor. Kansas and Baylor tend to get off to good starts and have a great 3-point game. Both teams are in the Big 12 top five in 3-point completions for the Big 12.

The Sooners will have some tough games in February as they face Texas and Kansas; both ranked in the AP Top 25 according to ESPN.com. I hope that the Sooners cohesiveness as a team will further develop as they go along and result in them playing strong in March.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys had a great non-conference season suffering only two losses. Tulsa got the win 86-65 on December 2 and Rhode Island handed the Cowboys their second loss 63-59 on January 2. Gallagher Iba Arena was rocking when the Cowboys defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 81-52. The first bedlam battle with OU did not end in a victory as the Sooners defeated the Cowboys 62-57 in overtime in the Lloyd Noble Arena. The Cowboys traveled to Baylor and the Baylor Bears defeated the Cowboys 83-70.

The Cowboys have several good starters this season, who will write their names in the Cowboy record book.

Junior guard James Anderson is third in scoring in the Big 12, averaging 23 points per game. Anderson is a leader on the court and attempts to make plays when needed. Anderson scored 28 points against Texas Tech, 18 points against Oklahoma and 20 points in the game against Baylor.

Senior Obi Muonelo is the only senior on the team and averages 12 points per game. He scored 12 points against Texas Tech, was held to 3 points against Oklahoma and 21 points against Baylor.

Freshman guard Ray Penn is another Cowboy starter who is playing a great deal of minutes this season. He scored 12 points against Texas Tech, 14 points against Oklahoma and 5points against Baylor.

Coach Ford has several players on the bench that have contributed to Cowboy victories. In three conference games, they have contributed 69 points.

The Cowboys have improved since last season, they seem to be moving the ball on the court and looking for the open man. They are picking up rebounds, putting the shots back up on the offensive end, and looking for the rebounds on the defensive end.

February will be hot for the Cowboys as they face Texas twice, Oklahoma, Kansas and Baylor.