Oklahoma Sooners
Overall Rank: #14
Conference Rank: #3 Big 12
Oklahoma Team Page
Oklahoma had some ups and downs last season. There were a few bad losses, but the Sooners also beat Baylor at home. It was a young OU squad, especially on the perimeter, and that was a big reason for the inconsistency. With a year of growing up, this should be a strong team that can compete with anybody in the country. Maybe winning the Big 12 and unseating Baylor are a bit much, but a high seed and deep NCAA Tournament run, as always, is to be expected in Norman.
2014-15 Record: 21-12, 13-5
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Sherri Coale
Coach Record: 420-206 at Oklahoma, 420-206 overall
Strengths:
Last year’s backcourt was full of underclassmen. Gabbi Ortiz is still a freshman, but a year of starting experience should lead to more efficiency offensively. Ortiz is a good outside shooter and connected on 33.3 percent of her attempts from long range, but more importantly she dished out 3.5 assists per game. Her turnover numbers were a little high, as to be expected from a freshman, but that should improve this time around. Ortiz will be joined in the backcourt by juniors Gioya Carter and Peyton Little. Carter averaged 9.9 points and made 40.0 percent of her 75 three-point attempts. Little is the team’s most dynamic scorer. She led the team with 12.6 points per game and can use her size and speed to attack the basket. She also knocked down a team high 56 three-pointers.
Weaknesses:
Sharane Campbell-Olds was a 5-10 guard, but her loss leaves questions in the frontcourt. Despite her size, Campbell-Olds was very productive on the glass. That leaves the pressure on senior forward Kaylon Williams. Williams had a great season, averaging 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds, but she will be asked to do even more now. Vionise Pierre-Louis had a very promising freshman campaign, averaging 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds. She could start at the five, with Williams sliding down to the four, and that may be a good way to go on occasion, but more likely Coach Sherri Coale will play a smaller lineup most of the time. Junior guard Maddie Manning has plenty of size at 6-2, and she could step into a bigger role after being the team’s most productive substitute a season ago.
Final Projection:
Depth could be an issue in the frontcourt, but there could be plenty of size if sophomore McKeena Treece and freshman Ijeoma Odimgbe are ready for some minutes. Treece averaged just 8.2 minutes per game as a freshman, but was pretty productive in the scoring and shot blocking departments in those limited minutes. That may not be enough to unseat Baylor from the top of the Big 12, but this is a team that will certainly push the Bears and has the potential to make a nice run in March.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Gabbi Ortiz, Sophomore, Guard, 8.2 points per game
Gioya Carter, Junior, Guard, 9.9 points per game
Peyton Little, Junior, Guard, 12.6 points per game
Maddie Manning, Junior, Guard, 4.7 points per game
Kaylon Williams, Senior, Forward, 12.2 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.7 (26th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.5 (275, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.5 (37, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.1 (205, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.0 (50, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.8 (51, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.7 (151, 5)
Rebound Margin: 0.7 (153, 6)
Assists Per Game: 14.3 (85, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.8 (206, 9)
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