Can you smell that? That is the smell of NCAAM college basketball coming into season.

It’s never too early to study the competition and get a feel for the teams which the Ozone will be jeering at in the weeks to come.

Behind every great man is a great woman. Eddie Sutton is a great man, so you better bet he had a great woman.

On Jan. 8, the ORU community mourned the passing of Patsy Sutton, wife and longtime supporter to the legendary Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Eddie Sutton. She will be remembered as one of the greatest coaches’ wives of ORU.

At 74, she had been a teacher, devoted wife, loving mother and biggest cheerleader for her three sons and hundreds of college basketball athletes.

Patsy was loved by all and never failed to support those she loved most.

The ORU women’s basketball team started its first season in the Southland Conference well and experienced some early success.

The Lady Golden Eagles went 3-1 in their first four conference games. Their only loss was to Nicholls State in a game that went down to the final few seconds.

Throughout the stretch, ORU received big contributions from not only the big names, but from other players such as Sarah Shelton and Christian Key, who both had career highs in scoring. Jaci Bigham was excellent directing the offense and had at least 10 assists in all four games.

ORU’s women’s basketball team defeated in-town rival Tulsa 64-53 to win the 2012 Mayor’s Cup. The win Nov. 9 at the Mabee Center was the first time since 2009 the Lady Golden Eagles have defeated Tulsa.