Tag: Sam Godwin

Rivaldo Soares returns from injury, comes up big for the Oklahoma Sooners

Rivaldo Soares once again steps up big for the Sooners after a week of uncertainty.

You could argue since the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, no one is playing better for the Oklahoma Sooners than [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag].

Off the bench, Soares is averaging 13.9 points per game, 68.1% from the field, 61.1% from three and five rebounds in that seven-game stretch. It just shows how big it was to not have him in their last game against the Kansas Jayhawks after he suffered an injury late in the Baylor game. There were even some questions if he would even be able to go against Oklahoma State.

Soares talked about what the week was like for him to get ready. “I got with my trainers, strength coach and just did a whole lot of treatment,” Soares said. “Some days I did more treatment sessions than I had meals. I think that was the first collegiate game I missed in my career. I didn’t want to miss it so I definitely didn’t want to miss another one. It was just grinding to get back. I just tweaked it (in the first half) real quick. I felt some discomfort. I subbed out, kept it moving and I was good to go back in.”

Sooners are thankful he did. He finished with 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting and 3 of 3 from three. 14 of those points came in the second half as the Sooners were working back from ann eight-point halftime deficit and in overtime. If he can keep this up, he’ll play a huge role to keep the Sooners dancing in March.

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.

Javian McCollum’s shot might have saved Oklahoma’s season

Javian McCollum might have hit the biggest shot in recent Oklahoma Sooners memory.

No matter what [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] does the rest of his career at Oklahoma, he will forever be engrained in Oklahoma basketball lore.

In Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the final [autotag]Bedlam [/autotag]game at Gallagher-Iba Arena, McCollum ripped the hearts out of the Oklahoma State faithful in cold-blooded fashion.

Oklahoma struggled early in the game and were down eight at halftime. But they put together a big second half. [autotag]Javon Small[/autotag] who is one of the best free throw shooters in the conference missed the front end of a one-and-one with about four seconds left which sent it to overtime.

That’s when the McCollum show started. After a timeout with nearly 13 seconds left, McCollum got the inbounds. It looked like the Sooners were a little confused about what the play was so McCollum made some magic happen. After a couple of hesitation dribbles, he tried to go to the basket but was cut off, dribbled it back out past the three-point line near the corner, sidestepped and buried the three to win Bedlam, silencing the crowd.

McCollum broke down the feeling of hitting that shot after the game.

“The feeling was great,” McCollum said. “To know that my teammates and coaches trust me in that moment. But as I said, we had a couple of big plays before that. Waldo (Rivaldo Soares) hit a big three, Otega had an and one and Los (Milos Uzan) came down and hit an and one. It was a whole bunch adding up to it, I just hit the shot.”

That win helped the Sooners sweep the Cowboys in their final year in the Big 12 conference. It’s the first time they’ve done that since the 2018-2019 season.

That also gets Oklahoma to 19 wins and puts them in prime position to make the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag]. A loss could have greatly affected their chances of making the tournament. So, McCollum’s shot could have saved the season and that’s why he’ll live in the lure of not only Oklahoma basketball but in the history of the Bedlam rivalry.

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.

‘I’ve got to be better as a head coach for him’: Porter Moser believes he has to help Luke Northweather more

Porter Moser believes it’s up to him to help out freshman Luke Northweather more.

The Oklahoma Sooners were down two key reserves, Rivaldo Soares and John Hugley, in their game against the Kansas Jayhawks and it’s unclear when they’ll return. One of the guys who had to step up in that game was freshman [autotag]Luke Northweather[/autotag].

Northweather struggled in the game going 1 of 4 with two points and one rebound in 16 minutes. Ultimately, the game and moment just looked too big for him. Which is common for a lot of young players.

Porter Moser talked about how he has to help him come along a little faster. “We’ve got to help him as a coach,” Moser said. “With his confidence, he’s a good passer but he was getting kind of caught there with one dribble and picking it up. I’ve got to help him. I’ve got to be better as a head coach for him. He’s young and we’ve got to get through it. When he gets through this, he’s going to help us a lot. The guys see it in practice every day doing some of the things. It’s going to translate. I need to help him get that to translate.”

Northweather has shown some flashes of being a solid player for Oklahoma but it’s the freshman mistakes and not being sure of himself that is holding him back right now. But as Moser said, if he can figure it out, he has a chance to be a good college player.

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 must figure out road struggles

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a really solid season in 2024. No one thought this would have been a tournament team this after they were picked to finish last in the Big 12. Not only are they primed for a tournament berth, but they’ve also been …

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a really solid season in 2024. No one thought this would have been a tournament team this after they were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

Not only are they primed for a tournament berth, but they’ve also been ranked for much of the year as well. It doesn’t look like they’ll be ranked again this year barring a great run to close the regular season.

One area where they have struggled however is on the road. The Sooners are 2-4 on the road and 13-3 at home. Their only road wins were at Cincinnati and Kansas State. Three of their final five games of the season are on the road starting with two straight, at [autotag]Oklahoma State[/autotag] on Saturday and then at [autotag]Iowa State[/autotag] the following Wednesday.

They then end the season with a trip to Texas. The issue with how they’ve played on the road is even heightened given one of their final road teams is against Houston, who is the No. 2 team in the country currently.

Still, the goal should be to get to 20 wins. It’s not going to be easy. It’s why blowing some of the games they have were so big when they happened. It’s going to make getting to that 20-win mark even harder.

That final five-game stretch all starts this Saturday in Stillwater with the Sooners needing to win 2 of 3.

More: Despite recent struggles, Sooners a NCAA tournament team

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 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.

How to watch, key players for No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks

Here is how you can watch Oklahoma’s upcoming game against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Oklahoma Sooners are fresh off a blowout loss at the hands of the Baylor Bears on the road. Now, they return home against the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag].

The Jayhawks are also fresh off a blowout of their own losing earlier in the week by 29 points. This will mark the second time the Sooners have played Kansas this year and both games will follow a Jayhawks loss.

The Sooners could also be without [autotag]John Hugley IV[/autotag] and [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] who are two of their key bench players. But if you aren’t able to make it out to the Lloyd Noble Center, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players.

Best Photos from the Oklahoma Sooners loss to the Baylor Bears

The best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 79-62 loss to the Baylor Bears.

This season has been an up-and-down roller coaster of results for the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team.

They’ve proven to be pretty good this year but have struggled when matched up with top 15 opponents. And that’s what happened on Tuesday night in Waco as the Baylor Bears mauled the Sooners 79-62.

They didn’t have a terrible shooting night. The Sooners shot 46.7% from the field and 33.3% from three. However, they lost the turnover battle by seven and Baylor was lights out, shooting 54.9% from the field and 52.4% from three.

The Bears earned 16 more points off turnovers than the Sooners, which, combined with four more threes made than Oklahoma, provided a hefty margin of victory.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a chance to get back on the winning side of things when they welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to Norman on Saturday. But until then, this loss is going to sting.

Here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners loss to Baylor.

Oklahoma Sooners dominated by Baylor Bears 79-62

Baylor drills Oklahoma 79-62 as Oklahoma also loses Rivaldo Soares to an ankle injury.

Oklahoma’s season has been rock solid for the most part. They entered Tuesday night well on pace for 20 wins and well-positioned for a return to the NCAA Tournament. After they went undefeated last week, the Sooners knew they would have a significant jump in competition this week, with games against Baylor and Kansas on deck.

The first of those daunting games saw them travel to Waco, Texas, on Tuesday night for the first time since Baylor opened their shiny new basketball arena. Things weren’t bad to start as the Sooners and Bears traded baskets and raced out to a 20-20 stalemate in the first half.

Javian McCollum, Sam Godwin, and Milos Uzan were the stars of the first half. According to the ESPN2 broadcast, Jalon Moore had been battling the flu before the game. To rub salt in the wound, John Hugley was announced as out because of a knee injury. Moore was taking longer than regular breaks, likely due to fatigue, so freshman Luke Northweather was first off the bench.

Rivaldo Soares continued his excellent run, leading the Sooners with 17 points.

With the score 20-20, Baylor went on a 20-7 run to close out the half, sparked by their suffocating defense and Baylor’s flurry of three-point jumpers. Jayden Nunn was the biggest culprit, with three triples during the Bears’ flurry, and added another two points to end the half.

Nunn and Baylor guard RayJ Dennis were dominant, and the Sooners had no answer as the duo combined for 26 of Baylor’s 40 first-half points.

The second half didn’t get any better. In fact, things got worse. The Sooners came out lifeless as Baylor pushed out to a 21-point lead, the largest deficit the Sooners have faced all year. Rivaldo Soares injured his ankle and had to leave the game with just five minutes remaining.

Baylor continued raining down three-pointers, making a total of 11, which would be the most the Sooners have allowed from distance all season long. Baylor finished the game shooting over 50 percent.

Oklahoma turned the ball over 12 times, which Baylor turned into 22 points. The Sooners could only turn five Bears turnovers into just six points. That was the story of the game for the Sooners.

All eyes now turn to the health of Rivaldo Soares, one of the most indispensable players on Oklahoma’s roster. His ascension has been a revelation, and he’s comfortably been the Sooners’ most important player for a month now.

OU will welcome Kansas to the Lloyd Noble Center at 3 p.m. Saturday for the final time as Big 12 foes. Both teams are banged up, but someone must win this game. Oklahoma will seek revenge for last month’s loss to the Jayhawks in Lawrence.

Baylor will head out to take on West Virginia on the road this 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 Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Javian McCollum continues to trust his preparation to get him out of his slump

Javian McCollum has been struggling recently but a big game vs. BYU hopes to get him back on track.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team returned to their winning ways with a huge win over the BYU Cougars. It was a complete team win, with the bench contributing 23 points to the victory.

The defense was stellar as they held one of the nation’s best offenses to 66 points and one of the best three-point shooting teams to eight makes on 30.8% shooting.

A big key for the Sooners was the play of their two guards [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] and [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag]. It was one of their better performances in recent memory. They combined for 36 points on 47.8% shooting from the field.

McCollum spoke about his recent struggles and how he was able to bounce back vs. the Cougars. “My teammates kept me positive even though my shot hasn’t been falling the way that I’ve wanted it to fall,” McCollum said. “My teammates are here uplifting me, keeping me in high spirits. I’m really not worried about that. I know it’s eventually going to fall. I’m always in the gym. At the end of the day, the goal is to win, get big wins, get these Quad 1 wins out of the way and get to the tournament.”

The Sooners last made the tournament in the 2020-2021 season, which was [autotag]Lon Kruger[/autotag]’s final season as head coach. They are currently sitting in a great spot to make the NCAA tournament this season. They sit at 17-6 with eight regular season games remaining. Ideally, 20 wins gets you in the tournament. Although, as we saw in that 2020-2021 season, you can get it with 16 wins. The Sooners schedule has certainly been tough enough to carry them to March Madness.

But they need to keep stacking wins, and that starts this Saturday with the final home [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag] game as [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] foes. Oklahoma will play Oklahoma State twice in the next six games. The other four games are top 15 matchups with Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, and Houston.

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’ defense leads to huge must-win vs. the BYU Cougars

Oklahoma’s defense was flying around on Tuesday which ultimately led to a huge win vs BYU.

The Oklahoma Sooners bounced back with a must-win over the No. 19 BYU Cougars on Tuesday. The Sooners’ offense woke up in the 82-66 win, especially in the second half when they scored 48 points.

Even still, the story of the game was the defense. BYU is one of the best scoring teams in the country, averaging 83.6 points per game, which ranks No. 19. A big reason for that is their three-point shooting. They average 12 makes a game on 33 attempts, ranking No. 2 in the country. Their 36.2% from three ranks in the top 65 in the country as well.

But Oklahoma was able to shut that down. The Cougars went 8 of 26 (30.8%) in the game. The eight makes were the third lowest of the season for the Cougars, and the 30.8% was one of their lowest shooting performances as well. It was just the fourth time this season, BYU was held under 70 points in a game.

Porter Moser spoke after the game about why their defense was so effective. “I think our guys had such a respect for them,” Moser said. “I think we were trying to get underneath them. We got lost a couple of times in transition, one to start the second half, one in the corner by our bench, but they’re so hard to guard. They run excellent stuff. They space you. They’ve got an elite point guard. They’ve got a power-center that can score. But I thought our guys communicated on our switches really well. I thought they did a great job.”

That communication had been lacking recently, especially in the second half of games. But this once again shows just how good Oklahoma can be defensively when they are locked in and playing as one unit.

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.