‘They’re hurting’: Porter Moser on the mood in the locker room after tough loss to Houston

While there are no moral victories, Oklahoma can take a few positives away from their game vs. the Houston Cougars.

The Oklahoma Sooners followed up one of their worst performances of the season with one of their best performances in their two-point loss to the Houston Cougars.

The Sooners took the nation’s top team to the wire but ultimately lost to the Houston Cougars on a last-second shot. Still, there were a lot of positives to take away from the game. The Cougars have one of the best defenses in the country, and Oklahoma put up 85 points while shooting 52.7% from the field and hitting 12 threes.

Porter Moser spoke after the game about the mood in the locker room after a hard-fought loss. “It was a tough vibe in there,” Moser said. “It wasn’t like they were just happy to be close. I mean they fought their tales off. I thought they believed, their energy level, they made big plays obviously Houston made big plays as well. They’re hurting and that’s a good sign.”

There are no moral victories in sports but there are a lot of positives you can take away from this performance. This was the first time since probably the Iowa State game in Norman to start [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play where the Sooners looked like the top 25 team they had been for most of the year. They also played great offense after really struggling in that aspect in conference play.

The question now is, did they play that well because they got up for a big game against the No. 1 team in the nation, or did they play that way because they are starting to turn a corner?

It won’t take long to find out. They play the Cincinnati Bearcats in Norman on Tuesday, and that’s absolutely a game they should win.

Even though the loss was heartbreaking, good teams find ways to take the positives out of it and build upon those. We’ll see what kind of team this year’s Oklahoma team is shortly.

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Oklahoma falls to No. 1 Houston 87-85 on last second jump shot by Jamal Shead

Oklahoma comes up short 87-85 in upset bid of No.1 Houston.

Oklahoma emptied the tank on Saturday evening before a packed-out Lloyd Noble Center as they took on the nation’s number one team, the Houston Cougars.

Though the Sooners failed to knock off yet another highly-ranked Big 12 foe on Saturday evening, there’s certainly no shame in the effort they put on the court.

Jamal Shead, one of the nation’s best players, sent the Sooner faithful home in disappointed after hitting a mid-range jump shot as the seconds ticked down to give the Cougars and former Oklahoma head coach [autotag]Kelvin Sampson[/autotag] the 87-85 win.

In what many figured would be a defensive, grind-it-out affair, the Sooners and Cougars exploded offensively from the opening tip throughout the contest.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with threes raining from each side in a free-flowing game. OU was 7 of 13 from beyond the arc and 10 of 10 from the free throw line in the game’s first 20 minutes. Overall in the first half, they shot 14 of 28 from the field, while Houston shot 67% percent in the first half.

Rivaldo Soares led the way with 10 points on 3 of 3 shooting and 3 of 3 from the charity stripe. Sam Godwin added eight of his team-leading 17 points.

Houston adjusted at the break before racing out to a 56-47 lead before pushing it out to 63-51with over 13 minutes left.

The Sooners responded to fight back into the game with clutch shooting and timely stops. With the Sooners down 85-82, Sam Godwin was fouled. He made the first of two free throws, but the rebound was saved by point guard Milos Uzan. After a timeout, the Sooners scored off the ensuing inbound pass on a nifty drive to the cup by [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag].

On the Cougars’ final possession, Oklahoma got the initial stop, but Shead collected his own rebound from the scrum and hit the buzzer beater to end the Sooners’ upset bit.

The Sooners had five players finish in double figures while shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from three.

Houston will head to Orlando to take on UCF Wednesday evening.

The Sooners will host Cincinnati on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for their final Big 12 home game before heading on the road to face Texas in Austin on the final day of the regular season.

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How to watch, key players for Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 1 Houston Cougars

Here is how you can watch the Oklahoma Sooners’ upcoming game against the Houston Cougars.

The Oklahoma Sooners return home after a terrible trip to Ames, Iowa where they were smothered by the [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag]’ defense. Now, they return to Norman to face the top team in the country.

There is a fun storyline to follow in this one. [autotag]Kelvin Sampson[/autotag] returns to Norman for the first time since leaving after the 2005-2006 season. Sampson finished with a 279-109 record in Norman and is probably the second-best coach in OU men’s basketball history. He won three consecutive conference tournament titles and made the Final Four and the Elite 8 during his time.

Now, he brings his [autotag]Houston Cougars[/autotag] team and smothering defense to Norman, looking to wrap up the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] regular season title in their first year in the conference soon.

So, let’s look at some key players and how you can watch the game.

How to watch, key players for No. 20 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball at Kansas Jayhawks

The Big 12 regular season women’s champs are back in action for one final regular season game and here is how you can watch them.

It is time for the country to start noticing what the Oklahoma Sooners are doing right now. They just completed the season sweep of the Texas Longhorns with a great game earlier this week.

That win also clinched them the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] regular season championship for the second season in a row. They moved to 15-2 in the conference with one game to play and them being ranked No. 20 is criminally low. If they beat the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] and aren’t top 12 next week, there should be an investigation.

I’m only kidding, kind of.

Still, there is work to be done as the Sooners don’t want to fall to a Kansas team that is 17-11 on the season and who they only beat by five in Norman earlier in the year. So, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players.

How to watch, key players for Oklahoma Sooners vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Here is how you can watch the final Big 12 Bedlam game in Stillwater on Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners are making one final trip to Stillwater as conference foes. This could be the final time these two play in the conference unless they match up in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] tournament.

The Sooners one a close, hard-fought first meeting 66-62. But Oklahoma State has really got things going since that game. They’ve won each of their last two games. They beat BYU at home 93-83 and then beat Cincinnati on the road 80-76.

For the Sooners, they were blown out in their last two ball games since Bedlam. Both losses came in Norman.  But they got a full week off to rest up, heal up and prepare for this Bedlam Showdown.

So, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players for both teams.

Oklahoma Sooners hope to get two key reserves back soon

The Oklahoma Sooners were without two of their key role players but Moser hopes they can return soon.

The Oklahoma Sooners were without two of their key role players in their loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] and [autotag]John Hugley[/autotag] both missed the game due to injury.

Hugley has missed the last two due to a knee injury and Soares rolled his ankle late in the second half vs. the Baylor Bears which forced him to miss the loss to Kansas as well. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Sooners.

Soares has arguably been the team’s best player in the last six games. He’s averaged 12.8 points per game on 65.8% from the field and 53.3% from 3 during that stretch.

Those two being out probably played a role in the team wearing out late in the game. Porter Moser talked about the impact it had on the team.

“It hurt,” Moser said. “I’m not going to say it’s an excuse for the game but those two guys are two of our better defensive rebounders. We didn’t have any defensive rebounds from our two 5s that played (Sam Godwin and Luke Northweather). We didn’t have one defensive rebound against that. So, it hurt with that.”

Moser said earlier last week he hopes to get both guys back sooner rather than later. Soares warmed up with the team before the game but ultimately didn’t play. It sounds like he’s closer to being able to play than Hugley is.

Now, the Sooners have a full week to get at least one and hopefully both back before playing their final [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag] game as [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] foes in Stillwater on Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma runs out of gas in the second half as they fall to No. 6 Kansas 67-57

No. 25 Oklahoma falls 67-57 against No. 6 Kansas as the Jayhawks sweep the season series.

No. 25 Oklahoma entered Saturday with a chance to earn their third win against a top-25 opponent. Instead, they came up short as Bill Self and his sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks completed the season sweep of the Oklahoma Sooners 67-57.

Oklahoma entered the day with severe doubt that two trusted rotation members would play. [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] twisted his ankle in the second half of the Sooners’ 79-62 loss at Baylor on Tuesday after leading the team in scoring with 17 points.

[autotag]John Hugley[/autotag] IV injured his knee against Oklahoma State last Saturday and didn’t even travel for OU’s game vs. the Bears.

Soares tested his ankle pregame but ended up not playing, and he and Hugley were sorely missed.

Oklahoma started Javian McCollum, Milos Uzan, Otega Oweh, Sam Godwin, and Jalen Moore. They raced out to a double-digit first-half lead behind hot shooting and terrific defense on Kansas forward Kevin McCullar Jr., who was returning from an injury. Jalon Moore led the way with 13 of his team-high 17 points. Milos Uzan was aggressive and added 8 points, while McCollum contributed six.

Kansas pushed back towards the end of the half to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 5 at the break. OU entered the locker room up 34-29 after an excellent all-around first half minus 3/8 free throw shooting in the first half.

The second half started, and Kansas began to find themselves.

Kansa and OU played a close game with the game tied on a number of occasions before Hunter Dickinson found McCullar for a three-pointer that gave KU its first lead since 5-4. Kansas would go on a 14-4 run and would not look back.

Oklahoma continued to fight, but their first-half shooting cooled dramatically as they shot 3 of 19 from the field in the second half. The Sooners’ inability to stop Kansas in the half-court, specifically Hunter Dickinson, doomed the them despite having a five-point halftime lead.

Javian McCollum was 3 of 6 from three and finished with 15 points.

Hunter Dickinson posted a 20-point, 16-rebound double-double to set the tone for the Jayhawks. Freshman Johnny Furphy added 15 points on 5/8 shooting with three makes from distance to help his team.

For Oklahoma, the Sooners will have the week off and not play until next Saturday when they make their final Big 12 visit to Stillwater in basketball to wrap up the Bedlam season series.

Kansas will host Texas next Saturday back home in Allen Fieldhouse.

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How would a two minute warning affect the Oklahoma Sooners?

Another rules change could be coming to college football but how would that impact the Sooners and the rest of the teams?

This is an offseason of change. Gone are the Big Ten, Pac 12, [autotag]SEC[/autotag] and [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] as we’ve grown to know it. Instead, the Pac 12 is essentially gone, the Big 12, SEC and Big 10 are all adding new teams to their leagues.

But that might not be the only thing that is changing this offseason. The NCAA Football Rules Committee is set to meet at the end of February to discuss some possible rule changes. The biggest one would be the potential addition of a two-minute warning during the 2024 season.

For those that don’t know, the NFL has a two-minute warning where the clock stops at the two-minute mark unless a play is ongoing in the second and fourth quarters. It is basically an extra timeout late in games.

If you remember, the rules committee made a few clock-related changes last year. The clock doesn’t stop on first downs until the final two minutes of each half. So, wouldn’t this slow it down? Well not necessarily, this would essentially fill the place of an existing TV timeout. It would give a guaranteed break at the two-minute mark and could reduce the chances of back-to-back stoppages elsewhere, which we’ve seen after kickoffs.

The Athletic spoke to the NCAA National Coordinator of Officials, Steve Shaw, who explained how this would help with the back-to-back stoppages.
“We’d really like to avoid the back-to-backs. Nobody likes that. If we did it, the media partner would have to hold their last timeout to that, so they couldn’t get their timeouts in and then get a freebie. It would be the last media timeout and give them assurance they’ll get them all in. I think TV would be supportive of it.”

This would affect game management strategy going forward like when to use your timeouts and when not to. It also would affect how you run your offense. Maybe you’re okay with running the ball just before the two-minute mark, knowing you will get a stoppage.

Clock management will become an even bigger emphasis for coaches going forward. In the game vs. the Texas Longhorns last year, [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag] sacked Quinn Ewers just before the two-minute mark. The Sooners ended up using two timeouts after their following two plays, but if you had the two-minute warning, the Sooners could have saved one of their timeouts for that final drive.

Obviously, it didn’t matter. But that is an area where it could impact teams going forward. For now, we’ll have to wait and see how much backing it gets and if it is something the committee can move forward with.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

How do the Oklahoma Sooners compare to SEC teams in ESPN’s SP+ rating?

The Oklahoma Sooners are heading into a new era in the SEC and come in at No. 8 in the preseason SP+ rankings.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a really good season in 2023 as they bounced back from their 6-7 season in 2022 to win 10 games last year. Now, they prepare for a new era of Oklahoma football with the move to the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

But they aren’t the only change coming to college football in 2024. The landscape as a whole has changed. The [autotag]Pac 12[/autotag] is essentially no more as everyone but Washington State and Oregon State left for the [autotag]Big 10[/autotag] or the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag].

With the new changes and the 2024 recruiting cycle coming to a close, it’s time to look at where Oklahoma ranks in ESPN data analyst Bill Connelly’s SP+ preseason rankings (subscription required).

For those that don’t know, Connelly releases a preseason SP+ ranking every February where he bases his projections on three primary factors weighted by their predictiveness. Those would be returning production, recent recruiting, and recent history.

So, let’s take a look at how Oklahoma stacks up against the rest of the SEC.

How to watch, key players for No. 23 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball vs. No. 21 Baylor Lady Bears

The Big 12 leading Oklahoma Sooners are back in action at home vs. the Baylor Lady Bears and here is how you can watch the game.

The hottest basketball team in the state of Oklahoma is none other than the Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team. They’ve won eight straight games, including two top 10 wins.

They now face another ranked team, this time the No. 21 [autotag]Baylor Lady Bears[/autotag]. This game will be played in Norman as the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] leading Sooners look to move to 12-1 in conference play.

There is no doubt they’ve been on an absolute tear since conference play started but are still being disrespected by the polls due to how they ended nonconference play.

Can they keep their winning streak alive? Let’s take a look at how you can watch the game.