Making it through the first two months of play with just three losses and a No. 45 NET ranking, the Sooners face the toughest Power 5 conference in the nation.
The Big 12 is never a walk in the park. With Kansas being the team to beat every year, the other nine teams in the conference have built tough, reputable programs in the shadows of Lawrence, Kansas. Over the past two seasons, 13 of 20 teams made the NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma has made the Big Dance each of the past two seasons, missing the 2016-17 season after making four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2013-16.
The Sooners come into conference play with three of the top-10 scorers in the Big 12 in Kristian Doolittle (No. 6, 16.7 ppg), Austin Reaves (No. 7, 16.3 ppg) and Brady Manek (No. 8, 15.4 ppg). The trio will be key to Oklahoma’s success the rest of the way, but they cannot do it alone.
An unexpected role player has appeared over the suspected fourth and fifth options last Monday against Texas Rio Grande Valley. Kur Kuath started in place of Doolittle who was benched for a “situation”, per Lon Kruger. Kuath dazzled the crowd, slamming home dunk after dunk to start the game against UT-Rio Grande Valley. Finishing with a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds, Kuath still played within himself.
“It’s been a while since I’ve played, so it was a good experience,” Kuath told reporters on Thursday.
With Kuath’s emergence, both De’Vion Harmon and Jamal Bieniemy have yet to exceed expectations this season. The guard duo has combined for an average of 12.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 rebounds a game so far this season. Although underwhelming in the box score, Coach Kruger sees plenty to be happy about.
“Jamal’s (Bieniemy) come along, doing really well—I think he’ll make more shots,” Kruger said on Thursday. “De’Vion, I think is playing his best basketball right now. He’s really energizing us coming off the bench and has handled that really well. Great attitude and great work ethic,”
With six guys being somewhat consistent on a nightly basis, the Sooners should be competitive every night when facing a Big 12 opponent.
“It’s going to be tough,” Manek said Thursday after practice. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the bottom or the top of the Big 12, you’re coming to play every day.”
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