By GUERIN EMIG Sports Writer on Mar 13, 2013, at 11:40 AM Updated on 3/13 at 11:40 AM
OU SPORTS
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma has two givens heading into Thursday's Big 12 quarterfinal against Iowa State – Lon Kruger and Romero Osby. We know the Sooners will be well-prepared to face the Cyclones, just as we know Osby will lead them in both points and rebounds.
Neither, however, guarantees victory.
For OU to play into the weekend here, three things must happen.
1) Steven Pledger must find his shot
This is dicey. For four years, Pledger has generally spent weeks at a time being either flammable or frozen solid. Nothing in between. Use OU's home stretch as an example.
In five games from Feb. 2 through Feb. 16, Pledger made a total of six 3-pointers. The Sooners went 2-3.
In the five games that followed, Feb. 20 through March 6, he made 24. His team went 4-1.
In OU's finale at TCU last Saturday, Pledger missed all four of his 3-point tries and completely overshot the rim on three of those. Talk about an ominous sign going forward.
Pledger made a few during practice Monday. He made several more during OU's Wednesday morning shootaround at the Sprint Center.
Thursday, though, is when it matters. He'll need to buck his streaky trend, or the Sooners won't be able to make Iowa State pay for their extra attention on Osby.
2) Amath M'Baye must assert himself
He'll have the opportunity. Iowa State isn't renowned for its defense. It's just a matter of taking advantage, something M'Baye hasn't always done.
There have been glimpses. He scored 16 in the first three quarters of the game at Texas (we all know happened next). He came out hot in a victory at Texas Tech. He was terrific throughout OU's victory at Baylor Jan. 30, the night he scored a season-high 20.
The Sooners don't need 20 from M'Baye Thursday. They just can't afford the six he averaged against West Virginia and TCU last week.
3) Sam Grooms must take care of the ball when it really matters
He's going to turn it over some. Even as he's become a scorer since mid-February, Grooms has lost the ball a few times.
The killer has been when he has lost it. His overtime mistake at OSU, and his trouble during Texas' pressure-packed rally come to mind.
OU will gladly take more of Grooms' scoring. Everybody's going to have to hit shots Thursday to keep pace with the Cyclones. But what Kruger needs most of all is his senior point guard's steady hand when everything around him turns frantic.
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