It’s a good time of the year to be playing well.

     And that’s exactly what Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are doing right now. As the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City tips off this week, both the Cowboys and Sooners seem to have a lot of confidence. And sometimes that’s what it’s all about.

     Oklahoma is slowly getting healthy. The Sooners are getting their game to where it was earlier in the year before the injuries to Blake Griffin and Longar Longar. Remember, they were playing extremely well in those wins over Arkansas, Gonzaga and West Virginia.

     A key has been the play of the guards. They have stepped up their game. Austin Johnson was outstanding in that win over Missouri. He is running the offense well and is hitting open shots.

     The Sooners have now won three straight games. I think if they win one game in the Big 12 tournament they have a chance for a No. 6 seed next week when the NCAA pairings are announced. That would be big for a team that was struggling just two weeks ago.

     Jeff Capel has done some kind of job coaching. No, he’s not going to take that South Carolina job. It’s not as good as his OU position. That doesn’t mean in a couple of years when a big-time school comes calling, that he won’t leave town. But he’s here to stay for now.

     Oklahoma State is coming into the Big 12 tourney with two straight losses. But the Cowboys don’t have to keep their heads down. I don’t think they played that poorly against OU Wednesday night and they gave Texas all it wanted in Austin before falling.

     Again, the key word here is confidence. The Pokes realize they can hang with just about anyone in Kansas City. It’s all a matter of making shots.

     Sean Sutton’s team shot poorly against the Longhorns. They still need to get more consistent play from freshman James Anderson and Terrell Harris. You just don’t know what you are going to get from either of those guys game to game.