It’s Bedlam!
Finally, after more than dozen drafts, it’s time to welcome the Sooners to the Basketball MVP Draft!
First off, for those who haven’t seen the MVP Draft before, here are the rules: Each participant will pick ONE PLAYER from EACH TEAM they think will perform the best. They will then pick a third player from either team as their wild card pick. Each correct pick is worth one point. We will tally the points throughout the season.
Before we get to our in-state rival, let’s rack up the points from last week:
Tyler
OSU: Jeffrey Carrol l UT: Jarrett Allen | Wild Card: Davon Dillard (OSU)
Sam
OSU: Jawun Evans | UT: Jarrett Allen | Wild Card: Phil Forte (OSU)
Sumer
OSU: Jawun Evans | UT: Jarrett Allen | Wild Card: Andrew Jones (UT)
Opponent: Jeff Haley
OSU: Jawun Evans | UT: Andrew Jones | Wild Card: Kerwin Roach (UT)
Oklahoma State: With only two options to choose from, this was actually pretty easy. Carroll had more points (18) but shot a lower percentage than Evans (36% to 40%). Throw in Evans’ 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and he gets the point.
Texas: It’s hard to beat a double-double. Allen had 18 points and 10 rebounds (both team highs) and shot 9-13 from the floor. Granted he did go 0-7 from the free throw line, but it’s hard to beat a double-double. Point Allen.
Wild Card: This was close. Roach had 13 on 6-9 shooting and tossed in 6 rebounds and 5 assists. However Texas lost so, no point. Forte was lights out, hitting 7 of 11 including 4-6 from beyond the arch for 18 points. However, Dillard played his best game as a Cowboy with a career high 15 points on 5-6 shooting and 4-4 from the free throw line. Throw in the 8 rebounds, and he gets the Wild Card point this week.
Sam - 15
Sumer - 13
Tyler - 12
Opponent - 11
With only a handful of drafts left this season, our players are keeping it close! Except for our opponents who have fallen from first to last. tsk, tsk, tsk.
Now on to the main event!
I think that gif perfectly encapsulates the Sooner’s season thus far. They are currently 9-16 and lost their senior point guard Jordan Woodard for the season last Saturday. To be honest, it kind of reminds me of OSU’s last season (though I don’t think Coach Kruger will get fired for this one). On the other hand, they did land 5-star point guard Trae Young on Thursday.
This week we welcome Jack Shields of our Oklahoma SBNation sister station Crimson and Cream Machine joins us to make the opponent picks.
Also, I will be filling in for Sumer.
Let’s circle the wagons and do this.
Tyler
OSU: Jawun Evans l OU: Khadeem Lattin | Wild Card: The Fans (OSU)
Oklahoma State: Last time out, Evans was the leading scorer for either team, despite shooting 25% (5-20) from the field. Jordan Woodard is out for the Sooners, and that sucks for them, because he was - without a doubt -the best player on the team. I don't think Evans will shoot that bad again, and we already saw that OU can't stop him, and now they are without their best player. Evans is going to embarrass this team tonight.
Oklahoma: I know he had a rough game against the Pokes last outing (eight points and one rebound), but I still think Lattin is the best healthy player for OU. He is averaging 8.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg. With Woodard out, Lattin now leads the team leader in steals and blocks as well. I had to pick a player for OU, so I'm going to go with Lattin to get me the point.
Wild Card: I know he had a rough game against the Pokes last outing (eight points and one rebound), but I still think Lattin is the best healthy player for OU. He is averaging 8.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg. With Woodard out, Lattin now leads the team leader in steals and blocks as well. I had to pick a player for OU, so I'm going to go with Lattin to get me the point.
Sam
OSU: Leyton Hammonds l OU: Kameron McGusty | Wild Card: Mitchell Solomon (OSU)
Oklahoma State: Going to switch things up this week. This is my first time picking him this season, he is coming off a big time shooting performance against TCU in which he was 5-8 from behind the arc. Hammond has had back-to-back double digit scoring nights (TCU, Texas) and playing OU for the 2nd time this season, someone else will need to step up besides Carroll or Evans to beat the Sooners twice. It is extremely tough to beat a rival two times in a season, but if Hammonds can follow his performance against TCU with a better one, it’ll be another happy night for Pokes fans.
Oklahoma: McGusty is a 6’5 guard from Katy, Texas with nice size for his position. He is averaging 10 ppg, but is adjusting to college basketball very quickly. He started the season out slowly on the scoring end, but ever since has scored in double figures every game leading back to Kansas State January 3rd. OSU struggled to guard him in Bedlam round 1, as he went for 22 in a loss in Norman.
Wild Card: Solomon is another player that I’m waiting for to breakout. He had a great game against #2 Kansas. But Coach Underwood and every OSU fan would like to see Solomon having more consistent numbers. Soloman has been scoring better as of late, with a few games above his season average of 5.4 PPG. But he is putting up nice numbers in the rebounding column as well. Anyone could step up in a rivalry game, and i’m looking for this to be Mitch’s night.
Phillip
OSU: Jawun Evans l OU: Rashard Odomes | Wild Card: Leyton Hammonds (OSU)
Oklahoma State: Evans played HORRIBLY in the last game against OU. If you don’t believe me, go look at his stats in the game. Go ahead... I’ll wait... See? bad. Yes he had 24 points, but it came on 5-20 shooting and 11-16 from the line. This time however, Jordan Woodard is out for OU. I think that fact, along with Evans wanting to play better, and beat the Sooners at home in front of what should be a ROWDY crowd, makes him the right pick. I feel a second straight potential double-double coming.
Oklahoma: With Woodard out for the season, everyone is going to pick the Sooners’ rising freshman McGusty. I’m going in a different direction. Odomes doesn’t shoot a lot, but he makes his shots at a decent enough clip to be the third leading scorer on the team. He’s scored in double-digits in three of the last four. Look, there aren’t a lot of good options with OU. I just wanted to pick someone other than McGusty.
Wild Card: Hammonds has been hot the last couple of games. 11 points against Texas followed by a season-high 21 against TCU on Wednesday. It’s his best two game stretch since mid-December. I like to believe he has found himself at the perfect time. If he can continue his solid play, OSU will win BIG today and this team will be dangerous heading into the post season.
Opponent: Jack Shields
OSU: Jawun Evans l OU: Kameron McGusty | Wild Card: Phil Forte (OSU)
Oklahoma State: Evans scored 24 and got to the line 16 times against the Sooners in Norman last month. I have no reason to believe that Evans won't be able to carve OU's perimeter defense once again, so I think he'll likely surpass his point total from the previous match-up.
Oklahoma: Considering Oklahoma's current situation, McGusty is a pretty easy pick. Jordan Woodard is out for the season with a torn ACL, and McGusty has reached double figures in 12 of OU's 13 conference games. He's one of the few guys on the court who can be both an effective penetrator and a dangerous outside shooter on any given night. He's also someone who can draw contact around the rim and get to the line, which will definitely come in handy in front of what will certainly be a raucous crowd in Stillwater.
Wild Card: The Sooners are prone to defensive breakdowns on the perimeter that allow skilled shooters to end up with wide-open looks. They actually did a halfway-decent job against Forte in Norman (with one notable exception), but I fear he may catch fire front of his home crowd on Saturday.