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.