Tag: C.J. Noland

5 players Porter Moser and OU hoops should consider via the transfer portal

A look at a few names the Oklahoma Sooners are targeting in the transfer portal and a couple more they should make a run at.

Oklahoma basketball is experiencing a retooling following consecutive years with no NCAA tournament berths. This year’s Sooners finished last in the Big 12 and, along with Texas Tech, were the only teams from the conference that didn’t make the tourney.

Those results have likely made Porter Moser’s seat somewhat warm, as making the NCAA Tournament is a fairly reasonable bar for most Power Five programs. Oklahoma has a reasonably strong history of basketball success as a program but has never won a national title.

No one expects Porter Moser to turn Oklahoma into the second coming of Coach K and Duke. Still, consistent tournament appearances and fighting for the Big 12 crown seem reasonable.

The blowback from two consecutive seasons of missed postseasons has been evident. [autotag]Jalen Hill[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Groves[/autotag], Benny Schröder, Joe Bamisile, Bijan Cortes, and [autotag]C.J. Noland[/autotag] are all no longer with the team after entering the transfer portal. Noland committed to Saint Louis, while Schröder landed with George Washington.

These departures also combine with Grant Sherfield’s decision to pursue NBA opportunities. At the same time, Tanner Groves has decided to move on from college basketball entirely after graduating.

As it stands, Oklahoma has lost eight players this offseason, with six of those players logging starter or significant bench minutes. Oklahoma essentially needs a brand-new team. They bring in two four-star prospects in Kaden Cooper and Jacolb Cole, but that won’t be enough especially considering they are true freshmen.

The transfer portal is the only way to rebuild this roster, and we have a few targets Oklahoma should look at.

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.

Sophomore guard C.J. Noland enters transfer portal

After a frustrating season, Sooners sophomore guard C.J. Noland enters the transfer portal.

Oklahoma had a frustrating season, and hard decisions will come in the offseason. The Sooners will experience that firsthand this offseason. Sophomore guard C.J. Noland was the first to enter the transfer portal Tuesday afternoon.

Noland came to Oklahoma as a heralded consensus top 100 prospect out of Waxahachie, Texas. He appeared in 33 games as a freshman and was selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman team. He averaged 3.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game.

He didn’t take much of a step forward this season, averaging 3.2 points per game. He started the first eight games but couldn’t hold on to the starting role. He averaged 14.2 minutes per game this season. He eventually lost his spot in the rotation to freshman Milos Uzan.

The focus on the development of guards Otega Oweh, Bijan Cortes, and Uzan put Noland in a bind going forward. All three were playing more meaningful minutes down the stretch to end this season.

That doesn’t consider that the Sooners will also welcome its highest-rated recruit since Trae Young in small forward Kaden Cooper. Cooper, at 6-foot-5, also figures to play on the ball and initiate the offense, thus pushing Noland down the depth chart even farther.

Noland was recruited by SMU, Texas A&M, and Big 12 rival Oklahoma State out and may look into revisiting one of those places for his next destination.

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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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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.

Oklahoma Sooners drop another close one at home, 62-60 to the Baylor Bears

The Oklahoma Sooners lost another close one to a ranked opponent, losing to the No. 21 Baylor Bears 62-60 on Saturday.

The Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball. But that’s no consolation for an Oklahoma Sooners team that fell to 2-5 in conference play after another close loss. This time, they dropped another tight contest to the No. 21 Baylor Bears 62-60.

The Sooners took a 58-56 lead over the Bears with 1:39 remaining on a [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] lob to [autotag]C.J. Noland[/autotag]. Baylor responded on their next possession with a three-pointer by Jalen Bridges. Grant Sherfield drove to the basket to retake the lead, but his floater off the backboard rattled off the rim. The Bears extended their lead with a contested three-pointer by Adam Flagler. It was a strong defensive possession by Sherfield, Flagler was clutch in the moment to extend Baylor’s lead to four with 24 seconds to play.

Oklahoma pulled within two in the final seconds but couldn’t get the ball back in the waning moments.

It was another frustrating home loss for Oklahoma against a ranked opponent. The Sooners led by four at halftime in what was a tightly contested game that saw multiple lead changes throughout.

[autotag]Jalen Hill[/autotag] led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds. He was 8 of 13 from the field. [autotag]Tanner Groves[/autotag] was the only other Sooner in double-figures with 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting and was 2 of 5 from three.

The Sooners struggled again from three-point range, shooting 23.8% from behind the arch on 21 attempts.

Oklahoma’s leading scorer on the season, [autotag]Grant Sherfield[/autotag], was just 3 of 10 from the field for eight points.

With the loss, Oklahoma falls to 11-8 on the season and is just 2-6 in Big 12 play. For their next challenge, the Sooners head to Fort Worth to take on the No. 14 ranked TCU Horned Frogs (15-4, 9-2 in Big 12). The Frogs picked up a big win on Saturday over Kansas, 83-60.

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Oklahoma Sooners can’t close, fall to Kansas on the road 79-75

The Oklahoma Sooners struggled down the stretch and lose to the Kansas Jayhawks 79-75 in Lawrence.

The Oklahoma Sooners haven’t won in Lawrence, Kansas since 1993. In one of the toughest environments for a road team, the Sooners couldn’t hold onto a double-digit lead in the second half and fall to 10-6 and 1-3 in Big 12 play, 79-75 to the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Oklahoma Sooners trailed by just two points at halftime to the No. 2 team in the nation and led by 10 with five minutes to play. But at Allen Fieldhouse, the Sooners struggled down the stretch, scoring just four points in the final five minutes as Kansas went on an 18-4 run to finish the game.

Playing at Kansas is a difficult proposition for the best teams in the country. For Oklahoma, this game will feel like the one that got away as poor shooting and shot selection plagued them down the stretch.

The Sooners got up five points on a C.J. Noland layup to make it 73-68, but misses on three straight three-point attempts from Noland, Tanner Groves, and Grant Sherfield kept the Sooners from extending their lead and allowed Kansas to get buckets in transition to close the gap and take the lead.

K.J. Adams was fantastic down the stretch for the Jayhawks, getting six points in the paint and picked up three rebounds, including two offensive boards that ultimately led to a Jalen Wilson three-pointer.

It was a poor shooting night from three for the Sooners, but still, they hung in the game by getting to the basket and hitting their free throws. And it was at the free throw line that was the difference in the ball game.

Kansas had 39 free throw attempts in the game compared to 23 for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Jayhawks were 31 of 39 from the charity stripe, and the Sooners were 19 of 23. And that was the difference. On a poor shooting night from three, Kansas didn’t continue to shoot from downtown. They forced the issue in the paint and took their trips to the free throw line. Oklahoma, on the other hand, settled for threes when they should have been going to the basket to make plays. The Sooners were just 2 of 17 from three-point range but shot 47.4% from the field overall.

Grant Sherfield led the way for the Sooners with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Milos Uzan followed up his 18-point performance against Texas Tech with 11 points and five rebounds. Tanner Groves and Sam Godwin also scored in double figures for the Sooners.

Despite the loss, the Oklahoma Sooners have found a spark in the last couple of games that, hopefully, they can carry over to their next contest at home against West Virginia on Saturday. This team has played some good basketball, but they haven’t been able to close out games late in the fourth quarter.

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Oklahoma advances in NIT, knocks off Missouri State 89-72

Oklahoma senior guard Umoja Gibson poured in 28 points as the Sooners knocked off Missouri State, 89-72, in the first round of the NIT.

How Oklahoma approached its NCAA Tournament snub was always going to be a big factor in how well the Sooners performed after earning a No. 1 seed in the NIT.

So far, so good. Oklahoma (19-15, 7-11 Big 12) looked engaged and motivated in dismantling Missouri State inside the Lloyd Noble Center, 89-72. Senior guard Umoja Gibson got it going early and finished 8-for-17 from the floor and 5-of-10 on 3-pointers as he scored 28 points.

Redshirt senior point guard Jordan Goldwire chipped in 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and the Sooners shot 12-of-25 from 3-point range as a team. Redshirt senior forward Ethan Chargois, senior center Tanner Groves and junior forward Jalen Hill were all near double-figures for OU as well. Chargois and Groves each finished with nine points, while Hill added eight of his own.

Missouri State junior guard Isiaih Mosley enjoyed a big game as well, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing 11-of-20 from the field to match Gibson’s 28 points. Senior forward Gaige Prim also added 14 points for the Bears, but Missouri State didn’t have enough outside of those two to hang with OU.

Oklahoma went on a 31-to-17 scoring run that began with Gibson’s layup just before halftime and culminated with Gibson canning a 3-pointer at the 10:05 mark of the second half to open up an 18-point advantage at 76-58. It was never in doubt for the Sooners from that point forward.

Oklahoma will now play the winner of Colorado (23-11) and Saint Bonaventure (20-9) on Sunday inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. On the opposite end of Oklahoma’s portion of the NIT bracket, Mississippi State (18-15) plays Virginia (19-13) and North Texas (24-6) takes on Texas State (21-7).

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Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Texas Tech: injury report, broadcast info for Friday

Everything you need to know as the Oklahoma Sooners get set for their semifinal matchup with No. 14 Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament.

Oklahoma added a jolt to its NCAA Tournament hopes by upsetting No. 3 Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, 72-67. Junior forward Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds, while redshirt senior guard Marvin Johnson added 12 points off the bench.

Senior guard Umoja Gibson finished with 14 points and it was his driving and-one finish that put the Sooners in front 68-62 with 49 seconds remaining. Redshirt senior point guard Jordan Goldwire and junior forward Jalen Hill each scored 10 points apiece to also help pace OU.

“Really happy for the guys to stick with this and be resilient. When we lost Elijah Harkless, we found out like the day before I think it was the Iowa State game and it kind of took us by surprise. Now, we’ve regrouped. We’ve regrouped and we’ve won four in a row and we’re confident, we’re hot.

“That was a huge win for us. People kind of counted us out and we started one at a time, beating Oklahoma State, then West Virginia, then had to go to Kansas State on their senior night and now this. But it’s a testament to this group on how close they’re becoming and how resilient they’re becoming of blocking out all the outside noise and just trying to focus in on what we need to do to win games,” Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser said following the win over Baylor.

Meanwhile, No. 14 Texas Tech dominated Iowa State from start to finish in its 72-41 win over the Cyclones. Texas Tech junior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. led all scorers with 15 points. It sets up a third meeting between Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The two teams split their season series with OU winning in Norman on Feb. 9, 70-55, and Texas Tech capturing the second tilt in Lubbock on Feb. 22, 66-42.

How to watch

Date: Friday, March 11

Time: 8:30 p.m. CST

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 107.7 FM The Franchise

Stat leaders

Oklahoma:

  • Umoja Gibson: 12.4 points per game, 37.4 percent 3-point field goal shooting
  • Tanner Groves: 12.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 38.2 percent 3-point field goal shooting
  • Jordan Goldwire: 10.3 points per game, 3.5 assists per game
  • Jalen Hill: 8.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game

Texas Tech:

  • Bryson Williams: 13.8 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, 42.1 percent 3-point field goal shooting
  • Terrence Shannon Jr.: 10.6 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game
  • Davion Warren: 10.1 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game
  • Kevin McCullar: 10.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game
  • Kevin Obanor: 9.8 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game

Injury report

Oklahoma:

  • Elijah Harkless: Harkless suffered a season-ending injury during the Texas game on Feb. 15.

Texas Tech:

  • Ethan Duncan: Duncan’s status is listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury according to oddschecker.com.

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What’s next for OU Men’s Basketball in the wake of Elijah Harkless’ season ending injury?

In the wake of Elijah Harkless’ season-ending injury, who’s likely to see an uptick in minutes for the Oklahoma Sooners.

In the midst of a month-long run that’s seen the Oklahoma Sooners lose nine of their last 11, they were dealt another blow. It was announced Friday that Elijah Harkless would miss the rest of the 2021-2022 basketball season with an undisclosed injury.

Harkless is one of the Sooners’ best defenders and his streaky shooting has provided lifts in games where other players weren’t finding buckets. The Sooners will miss him on the floor, but who will head coach Porter Moser turn to after losing the veteran Harkless.

On the surface, it would appear that Jacob Groves will get the first opportunity to take the minutes left by Harkless. When Moser sat Harkless down a couple of weeks ago, Jacob Groves was the immediate beneficiary, entering the starting lineup and it paid off for the Sooners.

While the experienced Groves will get more run, the expectation is that C.J. Noland and Ethan Chargois will see an uptick in minutes as well. Noland is averaging 4.3 points, shooting 57% from the field.

The Oklahoma Sooners have some work to do to get back on track as they head to Ames for a Saturday showdown with Iowa State. Their NCAA Tournament hopes hang in the balance and they need to start rattling off some wins over the final couple of weeks of Big 12 play.

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