Too early to know Sooners potential

Talking to former OU coach Billy Tubbs, a TV analyst this season on some Sooner non-conference broadcasts, he believes there’s a chance the Sooners could surprise and win more games than most forecast.

Considering the Sooners face a tough non-conference schedule, most would view a .500 season as an overwhelming success considering the Sooners returned only one starter and that one starter (Cade Davis) was a role player his first three seasons.

OU will be an underdog in at least two games in Hawaii and road games at Arkansas (Dec. 1) and Arizona (Dec. 5). The Sooners probably will be an underdog against Cincinnati Dec. 18 in the All-College Classic.

If the Sooners don’t post an upset in any of those games, even if they run the table against their other non-conference foes, they would be 9-5 heading into conference play.

Under that scenario, the Sooners would have to go 6-10 in Big 12 play to be 15-15 heading into the Big 12 tournament.

How the Sooners play in Hawaii, more than wins and losses, should provide some inisght. Play competitive in every game, including Kentucky, and OU will leave the island with some confidence in addition to coach Jeff Capel knowing more about his team.

Because the Sooners are so young and are relying on several newcomers or players with limited experience, Tubbs believes the Sooners will require time to mesh but sees some long-term potential. Tubbs also said the Big 12 is top heavy with several teams with question marks below the top five teams.