Losing is never fun, like watching “Jersey Shore” reruns. Nor is being left out of the NCAA tournament — especially when that is the expressed goal at the beginning of the season.
Oklahoma (13-10, 3-8) should know if the tournament started this day, it would not receive an invitation.
A former debutante at the big dance not yet three years ago, OU is in need of a substantial amount of makeup before the season ends.
Junior forward Andrew Fitzgerald knows his team is a long shot to be admitted into the dance, but that isn’t going to stop him and the Sooners from trying to make a case for the selection committee.
They’ll have to start at 7 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock versus Texas Tech.
“Our main focus as team, as a group, is Texas Tech,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re really going to try to win all seven games and try to make a run into the tournament.”
The Sooners have lost five of their last six games since defeating the Red Raiders (7-16, 0-11) on Jan. 17. But they showed slivers of a championship basketball team last Monday against No. 4 Missouri.
The 71-68 loss to the Tigers was the best statistical performance of junior point guard Sam Grooms’ season thus far. He scored 17 points and dropped 10 dimes in the game.
Grooms attributed his performance to hard work in the gym and the guiding hand of Kruger and his staff.
“I’ve been in the gym working hard every day on just making open shots,” Grooms said.
When opponents have double-teamed scorers like junior two-guard Steven Pledger and junior forward Romero Osby, it has been Grooms who’s left open. Big 12 teams haven’t respected his scoring ability.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “Especially when you come in and you know that you can shoot. You’ve done it before in your life.”
Losing also can be frustrating when you’re used to winning — and coach Lon Kruger is. Kruger won 21 games or more in five of his seven seasons at UNLV and hasn’t finished with less than 17 wins since 1998-99 season.
“We’re playing, probably, our best basketball of the season in the last two weeks, in general,” Kruger said. “That hasn’t translated into wins that we want. And there’s no satisfaction in coming close. Guys aren’t feeling good about that.”
Saturday night, the Sooners have an opportunity to rid themselves of that feeling — or it will only become worse.
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admin1579 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Come on Sooners! Beat Tech and prepare to fight the rest for a strong finish.