Tag: 2022-2023 Oklahoma Men’s Basketball

Oklahoma Sooners downed by the Baylor Bears 82-72 in Waco

The Oklahoma Sooners hung tough with the Baylor Bears but fell short 82-72 in Waco.

It was a game that was closer than some of their recent losses. Still, the Oklahoma Sooners couldn’t find a way to get a win against the Baylor Bears in Waco.

It was a good home environment for the Bears, and they used that homecourt to stave off a late rally from the Sooners to pick up the 82-72 win.

The Sooners got their first lead since early in the first with just under 14 minutes to play in the game at 48-47 after a 6-0 run. But that was as good as it got for Oklahoma. Baylor responded with a 6-0 run of their own to retake the lead. It was all Bears from there out.

Oklahoma hung tough but couldn’t get within five in the final five minutes as the Baylor Bears pulled away.

It was a better performance than the ones we saw against Oklahoma State and West Virginia but still goes down as a loss. The Sooners dropped to 12-12 on the season and 2-9 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners had a better night from three, shooting 34.8% from three and nearly 50% from the field. However, Oklahoma lost the turnover battle and shot just 50% from the free-throw line. And that’s all that Baylor needed to pick up the victory.

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Big 12’s basketball strength little solace for Sooners, but also provides a little hope

At 2-8 in the Big 12 and seven games remaining against top 15 opponents, the conference’s strength doesn’t do Oklahoma any good unless they can find a way to win.

The Oklahoma Sooners looked to be turning the corner on the hardwood when they picked up a huge win over the No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Instead of a program-defining win, it looks like that will be the high point of a season that will miss out on the NCAA tournament for the second-straight season.

It doesn’t matter how strong Big 12 basketball is if the Oklahoma Sooners get boat raced in each game. It was one thing when the Sooners lost close games to ranked teams in the conference. It’s another thing to get blown out in back-to-back games by unranked conference foes. But that’s where the Sooners stand after losses to Oklahoma State and West Virginia.

In Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology from Friday, the Oklahoma Sooners were one of the last four teams out. While one of the last four out isn’t great, they were still on the bubble. Odds are, with their 32-point loss to West Virginia that the NCAA tournament bubble burst.

The Sooners haven’t had an answer for the efficiency they’ve faced in the last two games. After an incredible shooting performance against Alabama, the Sooners have gone cold again. Especially from three, where they’ve fallen short of 25% from beyond the arch in each of their recent losses.

They’ve got eight games left in the regular season. Seven of those eight remaining games are against teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation. That provides Oklahoma an opportunity to create a resume that could get them into March Madness. They’re just 2-8 in Big 12 play, but a .500 record down the stretch against some of the best in the nation could be enough to earn them a place in the field of 68.

But they’ll have to find a better shooting stroke and defensive effort over the final eight games and in the Big 12 tournament to make that a reality. A couple more performances like the one in Morgantown and they’re postseason fate will be sealed. Their first opportunity to turn the season around will come Wednesday night in Waco against No. 11 Baylor.

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Big 12 winners, Alabama losers of inter-conference hoops clash

With a 7-3 record the Big 12 came out winners in their clash with the SEC, while Oklahoma made ‘losers’ of Bama per USA TODAY Sports.

If the SEC can claim superiority over the Big 12, and every other conference, on the football field, well it looks like the Big 12 can do the same on the court.

In this year’s edition of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the Big 12 came away with a 7-3 record. Oklahoma and West Virginia picked up ranked wins on Saturday, while last-place Texas Tech knocked off LSU in Baton Rouge. Though Iowa State and TCU lost to unranked opponents, and Texas dropped a top-10 contest with Tennessee, the conference can still claim a win overall.

The conference continues to raise its profile as a basketball league. With their impressive weekend in the inter-conference clash, the Big 12 was named winners from the weekend by USA TODAY Sports’ Eddie Timanus.

As mentioned, the Large Dozen-minus-two claimed the overall series against the SEC helped by winning the two closest contests. Baylor and West Virginia picked up three-point wins at home over Arkansas and Auburn, respectively. – Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

The bottom of the conference held strong against some of the best in the SEC. The Sooners came away with the weekend’s biggest surprise, downing No. 2 Alabama at the Lloyd Noble Center.

It was an incredible environment that had to stun the Crimson Tide and the Sooners won in a blowout. Oklahoma’s domination put the Tide on the “losers” side of the ledger.

Losing on the road is one thing. But the way the Crimson Tide were run out of the gym by Oklahoma, which is most assuredly not among the Big 12’s upper echelon this season, had to be quite vexing for coach Nate Oats and his staff as the team was completely uninterested in playing defense. Ultimately, the damage to Alabama’s overall profile will be minimal, and if the team takes the lesson to heart that it can’t simply rely on its shooting each time out, the result could still prove useful. –  Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

What the Sooners did to Alabama was equal parts shocking and impressive. They shot lights out from the floor and were efficient on their three-point attempts. But it was their defense, which had waned down the stretch at times this season, that was most impressive. They didn’t allow the Crimson Tide to roar back into the game and preserved the victory.

It was a win that could propel the program to brighter days if they’re able to go on a run to close out the Big 12 schedule.

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From the Student Section: Sooners beat Bama, calm before the… court storm

From the Student Section makes a victorious return after OU Basketball kicked up a storm against the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide

That. Was. Awesome.

I really need to get to more Oklahoma Basketball games. I definitely picked a good one to go to. Watching the unranked Sooners beat the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide was just fantastic to watch unfold.

So, how did I end up at this game?

Well, after getting home on Friday night, I remembered that OU was hosting Alabama on Saturday afternoon. While I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, I rounded up my Jordans and my roommate, and we made our way to the Lloyd Noble Center just as the doors opened.

That crowd was the best I’ve ever seen at the LNC. The student section has been asked, time and time again, to show up. They did. Watching this game from the student section was an unforgettable experience.

Also, this happened.

After watching OU Football be at the other end of field stormings for the last two years, being able to take part in a court storming after a win against Alabama felt therapeutic. It was incredible.

This is the best OU Basketball has looked in years. THAT is what a Porter Moser-coached team is supposed to look like. They were fast, they played outstanding defense, and they shot lights out.

Deep into year two, Moser finally has a signature win. With plenty of recruits in the building and plenty of time left to build a case to make the tournament, this win could end up paying massive dividends for this program.

As they said in the cinematic masterpiece Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” If Porter Moser builds a great basketball program, the fans will come. The program is still very much in a building phase, and the student section has been fantastic since Moser was hired.

Getting out of the Big 12 might end up being good for the Sooners. While SEC Basketball has a few heavy hitters, getting away from the titans of the hardwood in the Big 12 could level the playing field for Moser’s squad down the road.

Here’s a message for OU fans. Porter Moser is the guy. Believe in the program he’s building. Go to the games. Who’s next on the schedule? Ah, perfect timing.

Oklahoma State is coming to Norman on Wednesday night. If the crowd can be anything like the one from today, Bedlam is going to be electric. After what the Sooners experienced when they went to Stillwater, time for Sooner Nation to return the favor.

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Social media reacts to the Sooners stunning win over No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide

The Oklahoma Sooners stunned No. 2 Alabama in front of an incredible home crowd on Saturday and social media reacted accordingly.

Nobody would have predicted the type of crowd that the Oklahoma Sooners would pull for their matchup with the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide after their blowout loss to TCU.

But the fans showed up, and the Sooners were incredible on the floor in beating the No. 2 team in the nation. It was a huge win in what could be a defining moment for the 2022-2023 season and the Porter Moser era.

The Sooners had fallen just short in their losses to ranked teams in Big 12 play before their loss to the Horned Frogs. Well, against Alabama, Moser and his crew seemed to play like a team on a mission, hoping to erase everything that had gone on in Big 12 play and start fresh in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. And if today is any indication, perhaps this team figured some things out.

Time will tell, but for today, it was a momentous occasion for Porter Moser, the Oklahoma Sooners, and the fans in attendance. Not every game will go this way, but today showed that a strong home presence could be a difference-maker in a big-time basketball game.

Everyone in the program deserved that kind of support, and the Sooners faithful were rewarded with an opportunity to storm the floor after the game went final.

Here are some of the best social media reactions from the Sooners huge win over Alabama.

WATCH: Sooner Nation rushes the Lloyd Noble floor after upset win over No. 2 Alabama

Sooner Nation packed the Lloyd Noble Center and celebrated at center court after the Oklahoma Sooners stunned No. 2 Alabama.

The scene matched the moment as the Oklahoma Sooners stunned the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in front of a raucous crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners came away with a 93-69 win over the Crimson Tide with a fantastic shooting performance and a defensive effort that lasted a full 40 minutes.

The fans in attendance were fantastic the entire way, showing up for the Sooners taking on a top-five Alabama team in the Big 12-SEC challenge. In arguably the best basketball conference in the nation, Oklahoma hasn’t had the crowd to help provide a home-court advantage in most matchups, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday. And the home crowd was rewarded with a stellar performance.

For showing up and showing out, the Sooners fans in attendance celebrated on the Lloyd Noble court.

Absolute pandemonium unfolded as the final buzzer sounded, and the Sooners got to enjoy a home basketball environment that is the essence of college basketball. With a schedule fraught with great basketball teams coming to Norman, here’s hoping Sooner Nation can match the atmosphere they created at the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday.

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Relive the Oklahoma Sooners upset win over No. 2 Crimson Tide in fantastic photos

Relive the Oklahoma Sooners’ incredible win over the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide with these fantastic photos.

The Oklahoma Sooners took advantage of an incredible home atmosphere and a fantastic shooting night to stun the No. 2 team in the nation on Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

It was an incredible scene from start to finish as the Sooners shot just under 70% from three, hitting 9 of 13 attempts to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 93-69. It was the Sooners’ first win over a No. 1 or 2 team in the AP Poll since beating No. 1 Kansas back in 2002.

For a team that was blown out by TCU and Oklahoma State in the last week and a half, the Sooners needed this win to keep their tournament hopes alive and provide a boost to a program that appeared on the ropes.

Grant Sherfield poured in 30 points, Jalen Hill provided 26 of his own, and Tanner Groves had a double-double in the big win over the Sooners.

It was a fantastic atmosphere in Norman, and the fans made their presence felt from start to finish. Sooner Nation was rewarded with a fantastic effort from the home crowd and rushed the court when the final buzzer went off.

Here’s a look at the best photos from the Sooners’ win over Alabama on Saturday.

Oklahoma Sooners dominate No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in front of raucous crowd

The Oklahoma Sooners dominated No. 2 Alabama in a 93-69 win in front of a raucous crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center.

They didn’t keep the students off the court in Norman as the unranked Oklahoma Sooners defeated the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide 93-69. Less than a week after getting blown out in Fort Worth by TCU, Porter Moser’s squad needed a big win.

They got it.

While Alabama did strike first after a few made free throws by Brandon Miller, the Sooners would end up taking the lead a few minutes later on a Tanner Groves layup. OU led for the remainder of the game.

The Sooners put together a sensational effort on both sides of the floor. They shot 57% from the field and 69% from three-point range. Meanwhile, Alabama rarely had any space to breathe. The Sooners held the Crimson Tide to 37.9% from the floor and 27.3% from three-point range.

Grant Sherfield was simply fantastic. There was an audible buzz in the air every time he had the ball in his hands. He had a big day on offense with 30 points and six assists. Jalen Hill was fantastic as well, pouring in 26 points on 9 of 11 shooting. He was also 6 of 7 from the free throw line and 2 of 2 from three.

An unsung hero, if you could call him that, would have to be Tanner Groves. The elder Groves was everywhere and dominated on the glass, picking up 12 rebounds. Groves also tallied 14 points, giving him a double-double.

It was simply a perfect effort from an OU squad. Their shooting was fantastic for 40 minutes, and while Alabama did seem to be the bigger team, the Sooners held their own around the glass, particularly when Tanner Groves was on the floor. The Tide held a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass, but Oklahoma minimized that impact with their fantastic shooting effort. Despite the huge difference, Oklahoma still narrowly edged out Alabama 36-35 on the boards.

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The Oklahoma Sooners needed that win in a huge way. It was their first win over a team ranked No. 1 or 2 in the AP Poll since beating No. 1 Kansas back in 2002. This has an opportunity to be a season and program-defining win for Porter Moser and the Sooners after struggling in recent weeks. With Oklahoma falling onto the NCAA tournament bubble, this win has a chance to catapult them back into the March Madness field.

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Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners loss to the TCU Horned Frogs

Check out some of the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners’ loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.

The Sooners’ road trip to Fort Worth went about as bad as it could go. Falling behind 11-0 from the jump put Oklahoma in a hole they couldn’t climb out of against an aggressive Horned Frogs team that was coming off a win over the Kansas Jayhawks.

Oklahoma’s leading scorer was [autotag]C.J. Noland[/autotag], with 11 points off the bench. [autotag]Grant Sherfield[/autotag] had just five points on 2 of 11 shooting and was just 1 of 8 from three. The starting lineup combined for only 20 points.

On the evening, the Sooners shot 31.3% as a team, and their three-point struggles continued, shooting just 26.3% from downtown. That’s the Oklahoma Sooners’ second blowout loss in the last three games and second consecutive loss by 16 or more on the road.

What was a promising start to the season has put the Oklahoma Sooners’ tournament chances on life support. They’d struggled in Big 12 play to close out games, but in the last week, they’ve seen those close losses turn into blowouts and have had few answers for their opposition on the road.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier either as the Sooners prepare to host the No. 2 team in the nation, the Alabama Crimson Tide. But until then, here are the best photos from the Sooners’ loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners narrow loss to Baylor

A look at some of the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners’ 62-60 loss to the No. 21 Baylor Bears.

The Oklahoma Sooner men’s basketball team has been good this season. It just hasn’t been good enough in the final minutes of games. As has happened often en route to their 11-8 record, the Sooners held a late lead against the No. 21 Baylor Bears, but couldn’t hit enough shots late to pull off the upset win.

“We’re obviously just really mad and frustrated,” forward Jalen Hill said after the game. “We’re playing our butts off out there. We’re competing, and we just can’t find a way to win. That’s obviously frustrating.”

Oklahoma shoots a lot of threes. Porter Moser’s offense creates opportunities for the three ball. But they haven’t been consistent enough from three to warrant 21 attempts in a game. They shot just 23.8% on those 21 attempts from downtown in a game decided by just two points.

Things don’t get any easier for the Sooners who go on the road to Fort Worth to play the No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs next. TCU just went to Lawrence and beat No. 2 Kansas by 23 points. After that, Oklahoma will host No. 4 Alabama as part of the Big 12-SEC challenge.