What seed will the Sooners likely be in the NCAA tournament?

If the season ended today I think OU would be a No. 2 seed. Right now the Sooners appear to be the best team in the Big 12. They are 20-1 and have eight wins over teams currently in the RPI Top 50. Many people believe OU deserves a No. 1 seed; however, Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh all have stronger cases and would most likely claim the top four spots if the tourney started today.

Given the tough schedules of those teams, though, if the Sooners continue at their current pace they have a great chance of grabbing a No. 1 seed.

What aspect of the team most needs improvement?

If there’s one thing that could hurt later in the season, it is consistency (or lack thereof) off the bench. The bench came up big the last two games, scoring a combined 37 points against Oklahoma State and Baylor.

But before that it was outscored by Nebraska’s bench, 29-4. In multiple games, all five starters have had to play minutes in the high 30s. This could hurt OU come tournament time if its starters become fatigued late in games.

What will be the X factor heading into the final part of the season?

It’s easy to say that Blake Griffin is the X factor because how well the team fares largely depends on how the stellar sophomore plays. But as we near the end of the season and start talking tournaments, OU’s bench will be just as important.

The Sooners seem to have found another productive player in junior college transfer Juan Patillo. He had 12 points and three rebounds against Oklahoma State and nine points and three rebounds in 14 minutes against Baylor.

Since coming out of his redshirt against Texas, Patillo has looked like he may be able to help with the consistency problems off the bench.

Is OU really the No. 5 team in the country?

The polls really don’t mean too much, but if you’re the No. 5 team in the country, people must think you’re pretty good. But it’s hard to compare the Sooners to teams in the ACC and Big East.

Personally, I think the Big 12 is a very mediocre conference. I’m not sure how the Sooners would fare against teams like Pittsburgh and North Carolina. And the problem is, OU won’t face a team like that until they reach the tournament.

The Sooners should cruise through the Big 12 on their way to at least a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance, but we won’t know how good they are until then.

Is Blake Griffin the best player in the country?

From what we’ve seen so far, I don’t think anybody has dominated quite like Griffin. In Monday’s 89-81 win over Oklahoma State, Griffin out-rebounded the Cowboys by himself. He leads the nation with 17 double-doubles and has recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in 10 games this year.

When Griffin gets the ball low in the paint, there isn’t anybody who can stop him from scoring or at least getting to the foul line. He is an excellent passer and has good ball-handling skills for his size.

Again, we’ll get a better idea when the Sooners play the elite big men from the East Coast, but you really can’t ask much more from him at this point.

Eric Dama is a journalism junior.