When Oklahoma was at its best, it could look like one of the better teams in the Big 12 in the 2022-2023 season. Their win over then-No. 2 Alabama proved a high point of the season and put on display the potential this team had.
They had four top-25 wins, including their upset of No. 2 Alabama. Their losses to Texas came by a combined five points. They had a four-point loss at home against Kansas.
This was a team that, when they were hitting their shots, could play with the best of them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t very often. While the Sooners shot 45% from the field and 35% from three, in Big 12 play, they often struggled to keep up with their conference counterparts.
Wednesday night’s loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament was the final blow to a season that failed to meet expectations. And it was the shooting that failed Oklahoma once again.
The Sooners shot just 25% from the field and 26.1% from three. They were 6 of 23 from behind the arch. With few options inside and playing from behind for much of the night, they were forced to shoot from three often, and they just aren’t a consistent enough team from deep to rely on the three-ball.
Oklahoma’s starting five shot 24.4% from the field and were 3 of 17 from three. [autotag]Grant Sherfield[/autotag] and [autotag]Tanner Groves[/autotag] shot a combined 6 of 28 from the field and 1 for 12 from three.
The Sooners’ bench didn’t fair much better, going 3 of 11 from the field but were much better from three as [autotag]Bijan Cortes[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag] were 3 of 6 from downtown.
As the offseason approaches, the Sooners will likely head back into the transfer portal to find talent that can provide a rebound season in Norman. As they look to rebuild, Porter Moser and his staff need to find shooters to restock the roster.
The effort and the energy were there. They put on solid defensive displays down the stretch. But if you can’t hit shots against good teams, you’re going to get beat. Shooting 25% isn’t going to win you many games in the Big 12, or the SEC for that matter.