Since the water in Oklahoma's ever-shrinking ponds and lakes must be near the boiling point with the repeated 100-degree days we're having it seems only appropriate to talk about winter. As in UCO's winter sports schedules.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, it will be a light home schedule for men's/women's basketball and wrestling this coming season. The Bronchos are competing as NCAA Division II independents in 2011-12 as we transition from the Lone Star Conference to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, which UCO will join for the 2012-13 school year.
Not being part of a conference has played a huge role in the scheduling difficulties experienced by many of our teams, particuarly football and basketball. Wrestling hasn't been a conference sport for decades and has always had its own difficulties.
The final result is that UCO will have just 15 home basketball games -- combined -- this coming season and four home wrestling duals, though the Bronchos will host the all-important Super Regional II Tournament in late February.
There will be only five basketball doubleheaders at Hamilton Field House -- two in November, one in January and two in February. And two of those will be against state rival Northeastern State, a team UCO's men and women will face four times apiece this winter.
The best thing for three three teams involved is that they should all be good. Very good. Maybe even very, very good. The men and women's hoops teams both return four starters from Sweet 16 teams. The wrestling squad has back all 10 starters from a 15-4 team.
...
UCO's fall sports teams will be reporting soon to begin preparing for their fast-approaching seasons. Football is first, with the Bronchos coming in Aug. 9 before practice starts Aug. 11.
Soccer, volleyball and cross country will all report the week of Aug. 15.
...
About the only thing left to finish off the installation of new turf at Wantland Stadium is the clean-up and with not much time to spare since practice starts next week. It looks really good, though the color in both end zones and the big UCO sign in the middle is not quite the modern version. That will be fixed before UCO's first home game, though, so no worries.
...
And finally, we've a KD sighting. As in Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the best basketball players in this whole wide world. KD used Hamilton Field House for a practice session Sunday afternoon, going at it for 2 1/2 hours. Now we know yet another reason he's as good as he is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment