Porter Moser speaks on turning down NIT invitation

Porter Moser talks about why the Oklahoma Sooners decided to not play in the NIT tournament.

On Sunday, the Oklahoma Sooners found out they would not be getting into the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag]. Shortly after that, it was announced they would not be playing in the [autotag]NIT[/autotag] either.

Porter Moser held a press conference on Tuesday where he talked about the devastation his team felt after being snubbed from the tournament. He also said they were given 10-15 minutes to decide if they wanted to participate in the NIT.

“It never was a thought,” Moser said. “It’s absolutely not to disparage the NIT. I think a storied tournament. That’s not to say some coaches wanted to start on the portal. That’s not where we were. It wasn’t even about those two things. I will coach until the last bounce that I can possibly coach and I told my guys that. I said I would coach; I would develop, I would compete for this school until the last bounce. So nobody can confer what it is. It was an incredible raw emotion that these kids had to make a decision in 15 minutes after heart-breaking news where some of the guys will never have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament again.”

That was particularly the case for [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag]. It was well documented how he had never made an NCAA Tournament and was using that as motivation. He was arguably playing like the Sooners’ best player at the end of the year but continued to battle an ankle injury.

Moser said he ultimately didn’t feel they’d have enough guys to field a team. Now the Sooners are back to where they were a year ago, trying to figure out how to build a team to make the NCAA Tournament while also going to a new conference.

How they respond to this will determine how good of a year they will have next season.

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.

Porter Moser speaks on the ‘devastation’ his team is feeling after NCAA Tournament snub

Porter Moser opens up about the Oklahoma Sooners feeling snubbed from the NCAA Tournament.

For the first time since taking over as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] held a postseason press conference. This was in light of the Sooners missing the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

The Sooners and Moser felt they had a pretty compelling case to be in the NCAA Tournament, seeing they were 18-6 when fully healthy. But the committee thought otherwise, with Oklahoma as the first team out of the tournament.

More: Social media reacts to the Sooners NCAA Tournament snub

Moser spoke about what the last 48 hours have been like for his team.

“This is me speaking from the heart about our guys,” Moser said. “About the devastation and the hurt they are going through. Roughly a year ago today I was reminiscing with Los (Milos Uzan), Sam (Godwin) and Otega (Oweh) yesterday. A year ago today, when guys went into the portal, who were left were Yaya Keita, Luke Northweather, Sam Godwin, Otega Oweh, and Milos Uzan.  That was our roster after the portal. My incredible staff sat around and said we are going to build an NCAA Tournament team the right way with guys that represent Oklahoma.”

Moser went on to say they recruited a group of men that he would go to battle with at any time. He even admitted that every single day since Dec. 1, 2023, his young players would look at a bracket and Oklahoma would be in the field. The first time they looked up and were not included was Selection Sunday. Moser said he will not talk bad about other teams that got in and steal their joy but he will defend his team.

“I will talk about the complete hurt and how dumbfounded I am that Oklahoma was not included,” Moser said. “I have not been told a reason.”

There is no question Oklahoma surprised a ton of people by making a run at the tournament based on preseason projections. I think that is probably what hurts the most for this team, they felt they overachieved and made a run they felt was good enough.

But ultimately, they didn’t make it, which caused Moser to call the system “flawed” because of no consistency of why a team made it or didn’t make it.

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 Sooners drop regular season finale to Texas Longhorns

The Oklahoma Sooners dropped their Big 12 regular season finale to the Texas Longhorns 94-40.

The Oklahoma Sooners recovered from another slow start to close the first half trailing by only five. But the Texas Longhorns took it to another level by outscoring the Sooners by nine to win 94-80.

The Sooners fell to 20-11 and 8-10 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners struggled to get their offense going in the first half, especially from three. But late in the half, the Sooners began to find their rhythm and were hitting from deep to close the gap.

But the Longhorns took control in the second half, pushing their lead to as many as 20 over the final 20 minutes. The Sooners struggled to contain Tyrese Hunter, who had a career-high 30 points for the Longhorns, shooting 9 of 13 from the field. Hunter was also 3 of 4 from the three.

Oklahoma got a big game from [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag], who led the Sooners with 21 points on 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from three.

Despite the return of [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], the Sooners offense wasn’t consistent enough to hang with the Longhorns for a full 40 minutes and the defense wasn’t much better, allowing the Horns to shoot 63.6% from the field.

The Sooners now head into Big 12 tournament play hoping to make a statement and solidify their NCAA tournament hopes. The Sooners will be the No. 9 seed in the Big 12 tournament and will have a difficult road in Kansas City.

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 John on Twitter @john9williams.

‘It’s just one of the gutsiest performances that I’ve seen’: Porter Moser on his team’s performance vs. the Cincinnati Bearcats

It wasn’t pretty but given the circumstances, Porter Moser felt it was one of the gutsiest performances he’s seen.

The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a Jekyll and Hyde type of game in their win vs. the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Sooners start and really the entire first half was one to forget.

Then in the second half, they exploded, scoring 40 points and coming back to win a must-win game in overtime.

What made it even more impressive was the Sooners were without their leading scorer [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag]. Their other point guard, [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag], fouled out in the second half. He also had one of his worst games of the season.

Still, without a point guard to end the game on the court, the Sooners found a way.

Porter Moser spoke about just how crazy of a game it was.

“It’s just one of the gutsiest performances that I’ve seen under the circumstances,” Moser said. “You just look at the circumstances with senior night, obviously every game is huge, in nine days we played three of the most physical teams in the country, at Iowa State, Houston and Cincinnati, in nine days with these guys. Then they find out they lose Javian, then Los (Milos Uzan) fouls out. We’re playing with no point guard.”

One of the seniors who stepped up was [autotag]Maks Klanjscek[/autotag] off the bench. He hasn’t played a whole lot this season but he had a 7-2 run on his own late in the second half to tie the game.

Overall, it was a complete team effort. It took everyone to pull off a win they shouldn’t have and get them to that ever-important 20-win total.

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.

‘We’re in good shape’: Porter Moser on the Oklahoma Sooners’ NCAA Tournament chances

The Sooners had been struggling lately but with their win vs. Cincinnati, Porter Moser believes they belong in the tournament.

After a hard-fought game, the Oklahoma Sooners were able to win their 20th game of the season. That’s big in several different ways.

One of those is it’s the first 20-win season at Oklahoma since the 2018-2019 season when they lost in the second round of the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag]. But it’s the first 20-win regular season since [autotag]Buddy Hield[/autotag]’s Final Four team in 2015-2016. It’s also big because it almost guarantees a berth in the NCAA Tournament, which would be their first time back since the 2020-2021 season.

Porter Moser discussed whether he has talked to his players about their NCAA Tournament chances. “They know how important each game was,” Moser said. “They know where we were at. We had to get another big win against a really good team. That’s probably a Quad 2 win. We’re going to Texas now and they were talking about that more than the other. But they know. We’re just trying to stack some wins now, but I think we’re in good shape.”

It remains to be seen if Oklahoma will get an NCAA Tournament berth. The latest Bracketology had them as a 10 seed, so a loss could have been detrimental.

They have a chance to add to it as Oklahoma takes on the Texas Longhorns this weekend who could be without one of their best players. Then, in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] Tournament, it looks like Oklahoma will face the [autotag]TCU Horned Frogs[/autotag] or Texas again as things stand right now. But that won’t be official until games are played later on in the week.

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.

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners overtime win over Cincinnati on Senior Night

The Oklahoma Sooners battled in their overtime win over the Cincinnati Bearcats and here are the best photos from the night.

It’s not about how you start but how you finish. And the Oklahoma Sooners finished strong in their overtime win over Cincinnati.

On senior night, the Sooners were down big early in the first half but battled back to trail by one at halftime. Even after the Bearcats extended their lead back to double digits in the second half, the Sooners rallied once again.

On a night with no [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] and what was a rough outing for Milos Uzan, the Sooners got big-time performances from [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag], [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag], who combined for 50 of Oklahoma’s 74 points.

The win puts the Sooners at 20 on the season and likely solidifies they’ll be a top 10 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma has one more chance to make a statement this Saturday when they travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns.

Here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners overtime win over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Oklahoma Sooners outlast Cincinnati 74-71 in overtime, secure win No. 20

Oklahoma Sooners outlast Cincinnati Bearcats 74-71.

Tuesday night was a messy affair in the Lloyd Noble Center, but the Oklahoma Sooners came out on top when the dust cleared. After a rough start, they clawed their way to a hard-earned 20th win.

Oklahoma hosted Cincinnati for what will go down as Oklahoma’s final Big 12 home game. While the game ended with a 74-71 win in overtime, it was not without its own challenges.

Before the game, it was announced that starter [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] would not be playing after injuring his shoulder during practice.

So before the game started, Oklahoma was down a starter as they got set to face a desperate Cincinnati team. The Bearcats, coached by Wes Miller, came out like the more hungry team as they played with more energy than the Sooners in the opening 20 minutes.

After falling behind 14-3 early, Oklahoma methodically worked its way back into the game. As he’s done many times this year, Rivaldo Soares paced the Sooners early with 10 points and was the only Sooner in double figures as OU put up a paltry 27 points at halftime.

The Sooners shot 40 percent from the field in the half, but the big story was the performance of sophomore Milos Uzan.

On a day when the Sooners needed him to up his contributions without McCollum in the lineup, Uzan was held scoreless in the first half. He also had two turnovers and sat a significant amount thanks to two fouls.

The Sooners entered the break down 28-27 and were fortunate to remain in the game after their poor start.

The second half was even worse offensively for the Sooners, as they shot 32% from the field. However, they shot a surprising 50% from long distance, and they cashed in on 21 of 23 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

A back-and-forth affair came down to the waning moments of the game.

While down two with 17.4 seconds remaining in regulation, Porter Moser drew up a crispy inbounds play to free Le’Tre Darthard in the corner for an open 3-pointer to give OU a one-point lead. Oklahoma fouled Darthard’s former Utah Valley teammate Aziz Bandaogo with mere seconds left, and Bandaogo hit one of two free throws to send the game to overtime.

Oklahoma found its defense in the extra period. Sam Godwin and Otega Oweh came through with clutch buckets, while Darthard went 3 of 4 from the free throw line to close things out. The Bearcats’ last attempt to tie the game clanged off the rim and Darthard secured teh rebound to seal the win for the Sooners on Senior Night.

Soares, Darthard, Godwin, and Maks Klanjscek were honored Tuesday night before the game.

Oklahoma found a way despite being without Javian McCollum and arguably the worst performance of his young career from Milos Uzan. Uzan shot 1 of 10 for 2 points and fouled out in the second half.

Le’Tre Darthard finished as the team leader in points with 18, while Soares and Jalon Moore dropped 16 a piece. Jizzle James, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Edgerrin James, had 16 to lead the Bearcats.

It wasn’t pretty and deserved zero style points, but Oklahoma found a way.

The Sooners were a 10 seed in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology update before the game, and this win should solidify their case as an NCAA tournament team.

If Tuesday’s win wasn’t enough, Oklahoma will have another chance to pad their resume as they travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. They’ll have a chance for revenge in the final regular season iteration of the Red River Rivalry in the BIg 12 before both schools depart for the SEC.

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 Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Oklahoma Sooners preparing for the size of the Cincinnati Bearcats

The Sooners gear up for their final home game of the season against one of the biggest teams in the league.

The Oklahoma Sooners are just days removed from a hard-fought loss to the No. 1 ranked team, the Houston Cougars. Now, they finish off the regular season this week starting with a game Tuesday night vs. the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag].

The Sooners defeated the Bearcats 69-65 on the road earlier in the season. That would probably be their best chance to get to 20 wins as they close the season on Saturday against a Texas Longhorns team that blew them out in Norman earlier in the year.

Porter Moser spoke about the challenges they’ll face against Cincinnati. “They are huge,” Moser said. “They can really block shots and guard. They’ve been one of the best defensive teams in the country and in our conference. They’re really physical. We just played physical guards in Houston, Iowa State, and it’s another one.”

Cincinnati’s size could play a big factor in this game. Even though Oklahoma won the first meeting, the Bearcats’ size really bothered them as they shot 41% from the field and had seven of their shots blocked. But the Sooners were able to out-rebound them, which was huge in a close back-and-forth game.

They are going to have to have that same defensive effort and effort inside if they want to come out with another win.

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.

‘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.

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 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.

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 Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.