Bedlam basketball: Differences in the roster

OU’s 77-68 Bedlam basketball victory Saturday showcased one major difference in these two teams. While the Cowboys clearly have more top-tier talent — Marcus Smart, Markel Brown and, when he plays with his head right, LeBryan Nash — the Sooners have more good players.

Sometimes the former is preferable. Sometimes the latter. This 2013 Big 12 season will be a referendum on which is better.

Sooners' Romero Osby (24) is guarded by Cowboys' Michael Cobbins (20) as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) play the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) in NCAA, men's college basketball at The Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013 in Norman, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

But clearly the Sooners have more players you can count on. Lon Kruger is playing nine players at least 16 minutes a game. Stephen Pledger 26.4 minutes a game, Romero Osby 24.9, Buddy Hield 24.3, Amath M’Baye 23.6, Je’Lon Hornbeak 22.9, Isaiah Cousins 17.7, Sam Grooms 17.6, Cameron Clark 16.9 and Andrew Fitzgerald 16.1. That’s amazing court-time distribution. Nine players averaging between 26.4 minutes and 16.1 minutes. Fitzgerald has made 75 career starts but now is OU’s No. 9 player. That’s quite a roster transformation.