2022-2023 Oklahoma Men’s Basketball

Sooners guard Joe Bamisile enters the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners guard Joe Bamisile enters the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners lost another player to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] as [autotag]Joe Bamisile[/autotag] becomes the third player to depart the Sooners since their Big 12 tournament exit.

Joining C.J. Noland and Bijan Cortes, Bamisile will be looking for his fourth team in as many years as he looks to continue his collegiate career.

A bit of a sparkplug at the end of the season, Bamisile’s athleticism and energy stood out when the Sooners needed a boost off the bench. His minutes were inconsistent through nonconference play but began to see more playing time as Porter Moser looked for answers to give his team more of an edge.

Bamisile saw at least 10 minutes in six of the Sooners’ last seven regular season games. In those contests, he averaged 7.33 points per game. He averaged just four points per game in 2022-2023 after putting up 16.3 points per game for George Washington the year prior when he earned 31.4 minutes per game.

With three guards on their way out the door, the Sooners will lean heavily on [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] and [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag] in addition as they welcome in four-star small forwards [autotag]Kaden Cooper[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacolb Cole[/autotag] next season.

Next year will be a pivotal year for [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] as he looks to improve upon two seasons without an NCAA tournament berth.

Porter Moser, Oklahoma Sooners have to figure out shooting woes this offseason

Oklahoma shot 25% from the field in their eight-point loss to Oklahoma State. The Sooners have one job this offseason; find shooters.

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.

Oklahoma Sooners fall to Kansas State 85-69

Despite career performances from true freshmen Milos Uzan and Otega Oweh, the Oklahoma Sooners lost 85-69 to No. 11 Kansas State.

After another top-25 win on Saturday over Iowa State, the Oklahoma Sooners were looking to pick up some momentum before heading to Kansas City for the Big 12 tournament. The Kansas State Wildcats had other ideas, defeating the Sooners 85-69 in Manhattan.

The Sooners started strong out of the gate, holding a lead for much of the first half. The Wildcats kept it close and eventually tied the game at 25 with 3:28 remaining in the first. Nae-Qwan Tomlin’s layup made it 27-25 Kansas State, and the Wildcats led for the remainder of the game.

The Sooners’ largest deficit of the game came at the 14:48 mark of the second half when Tomlin put the Wildcats up by 20. And that was pretty much all she wrote.

True freshman [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] led the way with 20 points, and fellow first-year Sooner [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag] poured in 18. Each player experienced a career-scoring game against Kansas State. The problem was they didn’t get much help.

Uzan and Oweh combined to shoot 53.5% from the field. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 33.3% from the field, including [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag]’ 4 for 5 performance. You remove Groves’ line and all Sooners not named Uzan, Oweh, and Jacob Groves shot just 24% from the field.

The Wildcats shot better as a team. Kansas State was 53.3% from the field and 47.4% from three. The Wildcats also held a plus-4 margin in offensive rebounds and were plus-7 in total rebounding.

The true freshmen provided some good moments in this game and optimism for the future.

Oklahoma closes the regular season at home vs. No. 22 TCU on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.

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Better late than Never? Oklahoma Sooners turning a competitive corner

Though just 2-2 in their last four, the Oklahoma Sooners have looked far more competitive since their four-game losing streak.

The Oklahoma Sooners have played much better ball over the last two weeks. Since their four-game losing streak, which included four double-digit losses and a pair by 23 and 33 points, the Oklahoma Sooners have turned the corner.

Sure, they’re only 2-2 in their last four games, but they’ve picked up wins over top 25 opponents Kansas State and Iowa State and lost to No. 6 Texas in overtime by two.

Even though they ended up losing to Texas Tech by 11, they played really competitive basketball for 38 minutes of that game. They didn’t shoot well, and Texas Tech shot fantastic, and yet the Sooners were in it down the stretch. Tech had 16 turnovers in the game.

Even though they’ve had their shooting woes, they’ve been a much better defensive team of late. Though Iowa State only had five turnovers, the Sooners’ defense held them to 31% shooting in the win.

Oklahoma still has some growing to do. The wins over Iowa State and Kansas State may not be enough to put the Sooners back into the NCAA tournament picture. However, everything they’re doing right now can be helpful as they build to the future.

Best photos from Oklahoma’s win over No. 23 Iowa State

Oklahoma Sooners stifle No. 23 Iowa State in 61-50 win

The Groves Bros led the way, and the Oklahoma Sooners put together a strong defensive effort to beat No. 23 Iowa State 61-50 in Ames.

The Oklahoma Sooner picked up their second top 25 win in the last three games with an impressive defensive effort against the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones 61-50.

Oklahoma held the Cyclones to 31% from the field and 26.7% from three to improve to 14-15 and 4-12 in Big 12 play.

Early in the contest, Oklahoma trailed Iowa State 14-3 with just under 13 minutes to play in the first half. The Sooners battled throughout the rest of the first half to trail by just five after the first 20 minutes.

Over the first 5 minutes of the second half, Oklahoma outscored Iowa State 13-4 to take a 36-32 lead. The Sooners led the rest of the way, and the Cyclones never were that close again.

It was a strong performance from the Groves brothers in the win. Jacob came off the bench to lead the Sooners in scoring with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting. He was 4 of 5 from three to give the Sooners a boost. Tanner was 4 of 8 from the field and finished with nine points and 13 rebounds. In a game where Grant Sherfield was just 2 of 9 from the field and 2 of 8 from three, Oklahoma needed someone to step up, and the Groves did just that.

Sherfield did have 10 points and went 4 for 4 from the free throw line, but it was yet another inefficient performance for the Sooners guard.

Otega Oweh had an efficient performance in the starting lineup, hitting both of his field goal attempts and going 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

The Sooners NCAA tournament hopes may be relegated to winning the Big 12 tournament, but they’re certainly making a statement as the season winds down. They have a couple more games against top 25 opponents before the Big 12 tournament begins. They’ll face No. 14 Kansas State on March 1 and No. 24 TCU on March 4 to close out the regular season.

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Oklahoma Sooners shooting spoils strong defensive effort in loss to Texas Tech

The Oklahoma Sooners put in the work on the defensive end of the floor, forcing 16 Texas Tech turnovers, but couldn’t take advantage.

Nearly everything went the way you’d want it to for the Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday night against Texas Tech. They won the turnover battle. Though they were outrebounded, they weren’t giving up a lot of offensive rebounds to the Red Raiders.

They played well enough to win again, but fell short. It’s become a common theme for the 2022-2023 Oklahoma Sooners. But on a night when they put forth a pretty good defensive effort to force 16 Texas Tech turnovers, Oklahoma struggled to put the ball in the basket.

As a team, they shot 35.6% from the field and just 27.3% from three. That’s not gonna win you a lot of games in the stacked Big 12.

With 2:19 to play in the game, Jalen Hill’s layup made it a four-point game at 66-62. In the final minutes, their defense failed them, and they couldn’t buy a bucket, getting outscored 8-1 to close the game.

The Oklahoma Sooners are likely to miss out on the NCAA tournament again for the second year in a row. While the season hasn’t gone as Porter Moser would have liked, there are a few positive takeaways from this season. Namely, [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag].

Uzan has become an integral part of the Oklahoma Sooners offense. He’s played the point to help offset some of the load that Grant Sherfield was carrying, and his shooting stroke has been a welcomed addition.

On Tuesday night, he was 3 of 7 from the field, and 2 of 4 from three for 10 points. He also added two rebounds, an assist, and two steals. The freshman guard has done a nice job integrating into the offense but could stand to be more aggressive down the stretch. He’s scored in double-figures in each of the last three games and in five of Oklahoma’s last seven.

While it’s unlikely that Oklahoma makes the NCAA tournament, they can do a lot of good things over the final three games of the season. They’ll face three top 25 teams and then take their shot at in the Big 12 tournament. And in a tournament format, all it takes is for a team to get hot to make a surprising run to a title.

Why not Oklahoma?

Texas Tech pulls away late, Oklahoma Sooners drop another one 74-63

Though Oklahoma won the turnover battle, a poor shooting night allowed Texas Tech to pull away late and the Sooners lose 74-63

The Oklahoma Sooners hung in there with the surging Texas Tech Red Raiders for much of their matchup on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, they couldn’t hang in there for a full 40 minutes, losing 74-63.

Oklahoma won the turnover battle 16-8 but couldn’t take advantage on a night when they shot just 35.6% from the field and 27.3% from three. The story of the night was just a microcosm of the season. Play close for 35 minutes and then fade down the stretch.

It was just a four-point Red Raiders lead with just over two minutes to play in the game. Oklahoma got their chances but couldn’t hit shots and couldn’t get stops on the defensive end as Tech ballooned their lead from four points to 11 for the final margin.

[autotag]Grant Sherfield[/autotag] struggled from the floor in this game, going 3 of 13 from the field and 3 of 11. As a team, Oklahoma was 9 of 33 from beyond the arch. [autotag]Tanner Groves[/autotag] (2 of 3) and [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] (2 of 4) were the only two to make 50% or more of their three-point attempts.

Groves led the team with 16 points and 6 rebounds in the loss. Four Sooners scored in double figures, but the bench only provided nine points between Sam Godwin, [autotag]C.J. Noland[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag], and Joe Bamisile. The bench was a combined 3 of 14 on the evening.

With the loss, the Sooners’ slim NCAA tournament hopes are pretty much dashed. They’re now 13-15 on the season and 3-12 in the Big 12 with a rough three-game stretch to close the season against three top 25 opponents.

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Sooners Guard Bijan Cortes ‘taking some time away from basketball’

Citing “personal reasons,” Oklahoma Sooners guard Bijan Cortes is stepping away from basketball.

Oklahoma Sooners guard Bijan Cortes announced via his Twitter account that he’ll be stepping away from basketball.

In the Tweet, Cortes said, “Due to personal reasons, I am taking some time away from basketball. I look forward to returning as soon as I can. Thank you for all your support.”

Cortes, a sophomore guard from Kingfisher, Okla. had become an important part of the Sooners’ rotation. He was sixth in minutes this season at 17.5 per game. He was averaging 3.2 points and two assists per game. On the season, he was shooting 44% from the field.

Coming out of high school, he was the No. 3 player in the state of Oklahoma, the No. 27 point guard, and the No. 186 player in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Due to personal reasons I am taking some time away from basketball. I look forward to returning as soon as I can. Thank you for all your support. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

— bijan cortes (@whynotbijan) February 21, 2023

Bijan Cortes had two games this season with 10 points. One a win over Ole Miss, and the other a close loss to Iowa State. But perhaps his best performance came in the Sooners’ win over Kansas State, where he was 3 of 4 from the field, including 1 of 1 from thee, with an assist and two steals.

The Oklahoma Sooners host Texas Tech at 8 p.m. CT and will be doing so without their backup point guard.

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Oklahoma’s win over No. 12 Kansas State provides opportunity to finish strong

After a big win over Kansas State, the Oklahoma Sooners have a chance to get back into the NCAA tournament picture.

The Oklahoma Sooners pulled off a 14-point win over the No. 12 team in the country to snap their four-game losing streak on Valentine’s Day.

They needed that.

After putting to bed any rumors of his departure for Notre Dame, [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag]’s squad came out on fire, raining threes as they reigned supreme over the Kansas State Wildcats.

The performance was a far cry from the product the Sooners had put on the court during their four-game losing streak. During that stretch, the Sooners were outscored by an average of 18.75 points per game.

When Oklahoma has everything rolling like they did last night, they’re incredibly tough to beat. They brought a defensive intensity to last night’s performance that hasn’t been there since the win over Alabama.

Their three-point stroke had also gone cold during the losing streak. But against the Wildcats, the Sooners shot 47.8% on 11 of 23 shooting.

The Oklahoma Sooners may not be a tournament team at this point of the season, but with wins over Alabama and Kansas State, the remainder of their schedule provides an opportunity to put themselves back in the NCAA Tournament conversation.

Starting with No. 6 Texas on Saturday, four of the Sooners’ final five opponents are ranked in the top 25. If they can find a way to steal a few more games down the stretch, they’ll give the selection committee a lot to think about come March.

Check out the best photos from the win over Kansas State.

Photos from the Oklahoma Sooners loss to the Baylor Bears

A look at some of the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 82-72 loss to the Baylor Bears.

The Oklahoma Sooners hung in there with the Baylor Bears for three quarters of this game, but the Baylor Bears used their strong home presence to gather the momentum needed to close out the win.

The Sooners fell to 12-12 on the season and 2-9 in Big 12 play. They just didn’t have enough firepower to stay with the No. 14 Bears on a night where they shot nearly 50% from the floor.

Oklahoma lost the turnover battle 14-7 and was just 6 of 12 from the free-throw line. In a 10-point game, those are the areas that make the biggest difference, especially on the road.

It was an unfortunate end to a strong performance, but the Sooners NCAA tournament odds are hanging on by a thread. Grant Sherfield led the way with 15 points as four Sooners scored in double figures.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the Sooners’ loss to Baylor.