Oklahoma Chasing an Even Better SEC Finish This Season (and Fewer Turnovers)

The Sooners made the transition from the Big 12 to the SEC and had a great season, so coach Jennie Baranczyk has emphasized taking better care of the basketball.

Oklahoma head women’s coach Jennie Baranczyk speaks at SEC Media Day. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When asked Wednesday about some of the areas Oklahoma basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk wants to see improvement this year, she immediately interjected.

“You mean like, take care of the ball?” Baranczyk said. “That’s probably No. 1.”

That’s a good place to start.

The Sooners had a fantastic inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference, going 27-8, finishing with a league record of 11-5 and making a return to the Sweet Sixteen.

But Baranczyk and her players know there was more that could have been accomplished if the Sooners had only cut down on their turnovers.

OU ranked 322nd in the nation in total turnovers, out of 353 teams. In turnover margin, the Sooners were 290th at minus-2.49:1.

SEC Media Days

Oklahoma’s unofficial start to the season began on Wednesday as Baranczyk and players took questions during day two of SEC Media Days in Birmingham, AL.

After her humor-spiked interruption, Baranczyk acknowledged that her preferred offense that includes and up-tempo pace and lots of extra passes does tend to produce turnovers — and she’s OK with that as long as the team continues to get easy shots and score at a rapid clip.

“No, honestly, I think you can see that we're getting better, and we play together as a team,” Baranczyk said. “So that comes out in the assist column. I think we do a good job of being able to share the ball. I think we set each other up really well. Those are things that we've got to continue to do. 

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“ … I mean, we're going to be tested in our non-conference before we get to conference, but we really have to learn each other, and then obviously, defensively, you know, we have to be able to guard better in terms of one-on-one defense, because this league is so elite. There are some elite players in this league, and so that's something that we've really worked a lot on.”

The SEC had won three consecutive national championships and four of the last seven before Connecticut returned to the pinnacle last season.

But, despite some blowout losses to the league’s elite, the Sooners fit right into the SEC.

“It's as good as advertised,” she said. “I think a lot of times people say, ‘It just means more.’ I know that sounds really cliche. But after living at all year, this league is impressive. It really is — from environments, from the importance of our sport, from the student athletes. I mean, you're every night playing against future pros and Olympians, and you're facing these great college coaches. You're facing these great environments on a massive level.” 

So Much Talent is Back

OU returns a wealth of talent from last season’s club, starting with first-team All-SEC post Raegan Beers and second-team guard Peyton Verhulst. Those two, along with sophomore guard Sahara Williams, represented the Sooners at SEC Media Days.

OU also landed the No. 1 recruit in the nation in Aayliah Chavez. Baranczyk said she won’t have to do anything special to weave her into the starting lineup.

“Yeah, I mean, she's gonna weave in herself,” Baranczyk said. “I mean, she's such a great team player. She really has picked up on a lot of things. From a point guard standpoint, I think our team loves her. She fits in really well. She's got great court vision. She's going to have to continue to learn the level, right? Nobody comes in game ready. But she comes in practice ready, and she comes in hungry, and she works really, really hard. It's not going to take a lot for her to weave in.”