Oklahoma Sooners advance in Big 12 Tournament with 72-67 win over the No. 3 Baylor Bears

Led by Jacob Groves’ 15 points and 9 rebounds, the Sooners knocked off the No. 3 Bears 72-67 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooners continued their winning ways to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive with a 72-67 win over the No. 3 team in the country, the Baylor Bears. The Sooners move on to face the winner of the Texas Tech vs. Iowa State quarterfinal game.

Led by Jacob Groves’ 15 points and nine rebounds, Oklahoma was able to overcome a turnover-filled first half that led to a six-point halftime deficit.

After Oklahoma tied the game at 35 with just over 17 minutes to play, the two teams went back and forth for the next five minutes of game action. Jalen Hill’s bucket put the Sooners ahead 48-46 and they never looked back. Though they had to keep battling, OU held the lead for the final 11:51 of the game to move on to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Oklahoma was fantastic shooting the ball in the win, shooting 51% from the field and 52.4% from three-point range. Despite 16 turnovers on the game, Oklahoma held the Bears to 13.6% from three, which was the difference in the game.

Including Jacob Groves’ 15, the Sooners had five players in double-figures and had a narrow edge on the boards. Umoja Gibson had 14 points, including a three-point play on a drive to the bucket that put Oklahoma up six points with 49 seconds to play.

Marvin Johnson had 12 points off the bench and Jordan Goldwire and Jalen Hill chipped in 10 apiece for the Sooners who were a bubble team heading into the Big 12 tournament.

The win over the defending national champion is a huge feather in the cap of the Sooners, who will look to keep their winning streak alive on Friday night in the Big 12 tournament semifinals.

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Men’s Basketball: How to watch, listen as the Sooners get set to host West Virginia

Find out how to watch, listen to Oklahoma men’s basketball as they get set to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers.

In the final week of the regular season, the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team is in crunch time. They aren’t a surefire lock for the NCAA Tournament and their postseason aspirations depend on finishing the season strong.

Next, they host the West Virginia Mountaineers (14-15, 3-11 Big 12) after winning in Morgantown 72-62 the last week of January. Tanner Groves led the way shooting a blistering 9 of 11 from the field and finishing with 21 points. His brother Jacob Groves pitched in 12 and the Sooners walked out with a modest victory.

The Sooners (15-14, 5-11 Big 12) will look to build off their 66-62 overtime win against rival Oklahoma State and continue stacking wins as they look to fill out their tournament resume.

The Mountaineers slumber into the game on a six-game losing streak and are looking to play spoiler for bubble teams like the Sooners and whoever else might line up across them. If the Sooners don’t allow West Virginia to speed them up, they should come up with another win in this one in front of their home crowd on Senior Night.

How to Watch

Date: Tuesday, March 1

Time: 6 p.m. CST

TV: ESPN2

Line: Oklahoma -5.5*

Money Line: Oklahoma -260, West Virginia +205

Over/Under: 134.5*

*lines courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook.

Stream

How to Listen

Sooner Sports Radio Network

The radio broadcast of Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry can be heard on Sooner Sports radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City, KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App)

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Sooners hold on for a 66-62 overtime win over Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma Sooners survived Oklahoma State’s comeback to beat the Cowboys 66-62 in overtime to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Oklahoma Sooners took a 10 point lead into halftime and held it for much of the second half before a late surge by the Oklahoma State Cowboys sent the game to overtime. OU fended off a comeback attempt from their Bedlam rivals as Marvin Johnson took the ball and finished at the bucket to give the Sooners the four-point win.

Oklahoma led by as many as 13 points midway through the second half, but Oklahoma State didn’t go quietly. From the 10:45 mark of the half, the Cowboys went on a 21 to eight run to tie the game at 54 on Mousse Cisse’s jumper with 10 seconds left.

The Sooners and Cowboys traded baskets early in the overtime period before the Sooners got the stops and made the shots to take control. Down 62-61, Umoja Gibson made a free throw to tie the game at 62. Tanner Groves free throws and Johnson’s layup put the Sooners ahead for good.

Oklahoma had five players in double-figures with Tanner Groves leading the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Gibson and Jordan Goldwire added 13 each and Jacob Groves and Marvin Johnson chipped in 10 a piece.

Jalen Hill added six points and nine rebounds to help the Oklahoma Sooners end their four game losing streak and improve to 15-14 on the season and 5-11 in Big 12 play.

Oklahoma needs a strong end to the season to put themselves back on the bubble after struggling for much of the last two months. The Sooners will host West Virginia at the Lloyd Noble Center on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. CT before closing out the regular season with a trip to Manhattan to play the Kansas State Wildcats.

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‘I definitely think it’s time for a new arena’: Oklahoma’s Porter Moser endorses idea of new arena

Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser said, “I definitely think it’s time for a new arena for a lot of reasons.”

The Norman Transcript’s Mindy Ragan Wood reported last week that Cleveland County commissioners are pursuing a partnership with the University of Oklahoma’s athletic department and the OU Foundation to build a sports arena and “mixed-use development” in University North Park.

It’s the resurfacing of a development project proposal that was ultimately withdrawn from council consideration in July 2018 by the OU Foundation.

With a potential new arena once again a topic of conversation, The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel asked Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser today how he felt about a new arena and if he supported the idea.

“Well, just to give a broad, general statement right now and I’ll probably go into more detail later, yeah, I definitely think it’s time for a new arena for a lot of reasons. And definitely been talking, you know, since I was hired with Joe [Castiglione]. He’s very much in those conversations and very aggressive with those conversations of what we want and done, but definitely. Lloyd Noble is I don’t know what it…is it 50 years old? It’s 50 years old. I mean, there’s people that’s had two arenas since then. Definitely it’s a huge part of what we want and the direction we want to go,” Moser said.

In the meantime, Moser’s focus remains on attracting and selling the fan base and students to come out to the Lloyd Noble Center to support this 2021-22 Oklahoma men’s basketball team.

“I’m doing what I can control right now and that’s trying to get those students in there and people in there and put a product on the floor where we’re playing our tails off that people want to root for us. And I’m going to keep doing that to connect with the students. I love our student body. I think they’re awesome. We all know it. We definitely need a new one,” Moser said.

As Moser indicated, this will be a topic he will readdress in the future once the season concludes.

“You know, like I said, I’ll dive into that more when the season’s over where I can really see the pros and cons of everything. I just know what we need,” Moser said.

Oklahoma men’s basketball is scratching and clawing late in the regular season to position itself for an NCAA Tournament berth. In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projection, he still has the Sooners in the “last four byes” section of his bracket.

After the 80-78 loss in overtime to Texas at home earlier this week, OU is now 14-12 overall and just 4-9 in Big 12 play. Despite leading a majority of the game and then putting together a valiant late-game comeback, OU lost at Kansas, 71-69, the game before Texas after Jordan Goldwire’s jumper to tie was just short to close regulation.

“It takes a lot. I mean, these guys mentally toughness. We’re right there. You’ve got to make some plays, some winning plays at the end. We made a bunch. We were down six or seven to get it to overtime. We had a chance to win it in regulation, didn’t get it done. Same thing at Kansas. We were down and found a way to have the ball to tie it or go [ahead], didn’t make the play. It takes a lot to get to that point. These guys are preparing like crazy. I think our staff, I think we’re game planning, we’re prepping, we’re scouting. The guys are really, really locked in. Just got to get over the hump, make some plays, some really winning plays down the stretch,” Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser said of the Sooners’ back-to-back close losses against Kansas and Texas.

The Sooners have lost nine of their past 11 games and head to Iowa State on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a massive bubble tilt.

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Oklahoma Sooners bounce back with pivotal 72-62 win over West Virginia Mountaineer

The Oklahoma Sooners ended their four-game losing streak by beating West Virginia 72-62. Tanner Groves led the way with 21 points.

Coming into the pivotal road matchup with the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Oklahoma Sooners were desperate for a win. Losers of four straight, Porter Moser and crew needed to shake things up to get an edge heading into Morgantown.

The shakeup came in a lineup change that saw Jacob Groves join brother Tanner in the starting lineup in favor of Elijah Harkless, who’d been a starter for the Oklahoma Sooners for much of the last two seasons. For at least one game, the change helped spark the Sooners to a big 72-62 road win over the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Tanner Groves led the way with 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting and added six rebounds as well. Jacob Groves rewarded Porter Moser’s faith with 12 points and four rebounds. He shot 4 of 6 from the field, including 2 of 4 from three-point range. Umoja Gibson also added 12 points and five steals in the win.

On the night, Oklahoma shot 51% from the field and 35% from three-point range. They were 21 of 22 from the free throw line.

On the evening, Oklahoma continued their careless way with the basketball, with 17 turnovers, but because they were hitting their shots it didn’t seem to matter as much. Of course, it helps that they forced 15 West Virginia turnovers to keep the Mountaineers’ offense from ever really threatening for much of this game.

The last time the game was tied was with 12 minutes left in the first half. Once Oklahoma went up 14-12, they went up for good. A 15-4 run in the first gave the Sooners an 11-point lead and Tanner Groves’ three-pointer at the buzzer gave Oklahoma an eight-point lead going into halftime.

The Sooners opened it up to a 17-point lead midway through the second half and six points with about a minute remaining was as close as the Mountaineers would get to making a comeback.

With the win, the Oklahoma Sooners improve to 13-7 and 3-5 in the Big 12 ahead of a critical matchup with the No. 1 team in the country the Auburn Tigers. The Sooners and Tigers tip off at 12:00 p.m. central on ESPN.

West Virginia falls to 13-6 and 2-5 in the Big 12 and will next face Arkansas. Both games are a part of the Big 12-SEC challenge.

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Oklahoma Sooners unable to hold on, fall to No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks 67-64

Despite overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit, the Oklahoma Sooners were unable to pull out the win vs. the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas Jayhawks battled to a closely contested contest at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman on Saturday night.

Coming off of a tough loss in Fort Worth against the TCU Horned Frogs, the Sooners were hoping to bounce back with a win against one of the best teams in the Big 12. The Sooners solved some of the turnover issues that cost them a shot at a win against the Horned Frogs when they had 20 on Saturday.

Against Kansas, the Sooners had just 11 turnovers to the Jayhawks 12. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough as the Sooners could not get the final stop to hold onto the victory.

The Sooners and Jayhawks played to a 34-32 lead before the Jayhawks pulled away early in the second half. The Sooners would not be thwarted, battling hard in the second half to get themselves back into the game.

With about 17 minutes left in the second half, the Sooners trailed by 12 points. At 44-32, the Oklahoma Sooners went on a 20-2 run to take a six-point lead with nine minutes left to play in the game.

During the run, Umoja Gibson lost his defender with a beautiful crossover step-back three-pointer to give the Sooners a 47-46 lead.

 

The Sooners lead or were tied with Jayhawks from the 12:42 mark of the second half until the Jayhawks took the lead 60-58 with 1:18 left on the clock.

With 11 seconds left in the game, the Kansas Jayhawks were able to get the game-winning three-pointer from Christian Braun, who had 15 points, four rebounds, and an assist for Kansas.

Oklahoma answered each Jayhawks score in the final minute with one of their own until Braun hit the three to take the lead for good. Jordan Goldwire made two free throws with under 10 seconds to play, but two more free throws from Braun with four seconds left, and a missed three-quarter court attempt from Elijah Harkless was long, and the Sooners lost for the third straight game.

Goldwire led the way for the Oklahoma Sooners with 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting. While not a great shooting night, he was 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Goldwire added four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Umoja Gibson added 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting, including 2 of 5 from three-point range.

Though the Oklahoma Sooners shot 42% from the field, they were just 23% from the three-point line. The offense was helped by their ability to get to the free throw line. They had 19 attempts from the free throw line but only shot 67%.

The Oklahoma Sooners fall to 12-6 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12 conference with the loss. On Saturday, the Sooners have another tough matchup against the No. 6 Baylor Bears. Kansas improves to 15-2 and 4-1 in Big 12 play. Kansas takes their three-game win streak on the road to Manhattan, Kan., to face their in-state rival Kansas State Wildcats.

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Despite win over Iowa State, Sooners still on outside looking in latest USA TODAY Ferris Mowers Coaches’ poll

Despite a big win over Iowa State on Saturday, the Oklahoma Sooners remain on the outside looking in of the latest Ferris Mowers Coaches poll.

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The Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team is off to a great start to the 2021-2022 basketball season. They’ve secured three top 15 wins to start the season and have a 12-3 record and are 2-1 in Big 12 play.

Recently, they overcame an 11 point second-half deficit to beat then No. 11 Iowa State by 13 points with strong efforts from Umoja Gibson and Tanner Groves. Porter Moser has put together a nice squad that is beginning to mesh quite well. The depth was on display on Saturday night as Jacob Groves and Bijan Cortes provided scoring and playmaking off the bench.

Despite the win, over a previously hot Iowa State team, the Oklahoma Sooners remain on the outside looking in of the latest USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll. OU also holds wins over previously ranked Florida and Arkansas.

The Sooners are receiving more and more votes, so it’s only a matter of time before Porter Moser’s crew cracks the top 25.

A look at the full Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Baylor (32) 13-0 800
2 Gonzaga 12-2 735 +2
3 UCLA 10-1 702 +2
4 Auburn 14-1 615 +5
5 Purdue 13-2 606 –2
6 Arizona 12-1 601 +1
7 USC 13-0 595 +1
8 Duke 12-2 590 -6
9 Michigan State 13-2 558 +1
10 Kansas 12-2 553 –4
11 Houston 14-2 431 +3
12 LSU 14-1 399 +9
13 Wisconsin 13-2 391 +10
14 Villanova 11-4 380 +1
15 Ohio St 10-3 312 -3
16 Iowa State 13-2 305 -5
17 Kentucky 12-3 272 -4
18 Seton Hall 11-3 219 +4
19 Texas Tech 11-3 210 +6
20 Providence 14-2 191 -3
21 Xavier 12-2 190 +3
22 Texas 12-3 154 -6
23 Tennessee 10-4 131 -5
24 Illinois 11-3 108 +2
25 Alabama 11-4 105 -5

Schools Dropped Out

No. 19 Colorado St

Others Receiving Votes

Miami-Florida 75; Colorado St. 64; Oklahoma 39; Loyola-Chicago 34; Connecticut 13; Indiana 6; Davidson 6; Brigham Young 5; West Virginia 4; Belmont 1

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Oklahoma battles back, tops No. 11 Iowa State 79-66

Oklahoma rallied back and topped Iowa State to improve to 2-1 in Big 12 play. Here’s three takeaways from the Sooners’ big win.

It looked early in the second half like No. 11 Iowa State was going to keep Oklahoma at arm’s length. The Cyclones led 47-36 with 17:11 to play and then 53-43 with 14:13 remaining.

And Iowa State’s Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter couldn’t miss. That’s when OU locked in defensively and flipped the script, winning 79-66. Here’s a look at three things that stood out.

Umoja Gibson and Tanner Groves delivered

Senior guard Umoja Gibson scored 20 points and senior forward Tanner Groves added 16 points. Gibson showcased his offensive game is expanding, too.

“I thought Mo had a really nice second half. Made some shots. He shot-faked and hit that little pull-up in our run, got one to the rim in our run. He did some different things. He didn’t just launch if they were flying. He did a couple things off the dribble. Mo’s game off the dribble is really starting to be a factor for us,” Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser said.

Bijan Cortes and Jacob Groves offered big contributions off the bench

Freshman guard Bijan Cortes and junior forward Jacob Groves played arguably the best games of their respective seasons. Off the bench, Cortes added five assists, four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes and Groves delivered nine points and three rebounds in 10 minutes.

“Jacob Groves came in and he’s such a big target and he’s a very good cutter and Bijan found him a number of times. I thought he gave us a good lift off the bench. I’ve been talking about the bench. You know, you’ve got Bijan, C.J. Noland gave you four points, Jacob gave you nine and then Bijan gave you the five assists and four points. So, our bench was crucial. We’ve been talking about that in Big 12. You’ve got to develop that bench. Those guys are really starting to come on,” Moser said.

Oklahoma bounced back from the Baylor loss and defended home court

This is really the most important thing for Oklahoma. After losing at No. 1 Baylor earlier in the week 84-74, the Sooners showed once again that they are resilient.

Oklahoma is now 3-0 following losses this season. With the win, OU is 12-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play.

“I don’t really think about holding serve. It’s not in my [thought process]. I was just thinking about what do we have to do to Iowa State this game. Now that it’s over, hell yeah I’m glad we held serve,” Moser said.

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Oklahoma men’s basketball still sits just outside the USA TODAY Sports top-25

The USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll still has OU in the receiving votes section entering a big week.

Oklahoma has been knocking on the door of the USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll for some time.

The Sooners are still just on the outside looking in of the latest edition with 29 points in the receiving votes section. If ranked all the way out, that would place Oklahoma No. 28 nationally.

OU resided in the receiving votes category every week throughout the month of December. This week’s 29 points represent Oklahoma’s season-high tally. Previously, the Sooners’ best total came in the Dec. 20 Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll when OU received 21 points.

A chance to impress exists for Oklahoma this week. The Sooners travel to Waco to take on defending national champion and No. 1 Baylor on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before playing host to No. 11 Iowa State on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside the Lloyd Noble Center.

After Baylor at No. 1, the rest of the top five looks like this: No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 5 UCLA.

Kansas checks in at No. 6 and is followed by No. 7 Arizona, No. 8 USC, No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Michigan State.

Texas at No. 16 and Texas Tech at No. 25 are the other two Big 12 schools that are ranked in the Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

As is expected in the rugged Big 12, the month of January is littered with challenging games for the Sooners.

Following this week, OU has a trip to No. 16 Texas, home dates with No. 6 Kansas and No. 1 Baylor and a road trip to West Virginia who join the Sooners in the receiving votes section.

Here’s a look at the full Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Baylor (32) 13-0 800
2 Duke 11-1 760
3 Purdue 12-1 713
4 Gonzaga 11-2 693
5 UCLA 8-1 657
6 Kansas 11-1 654
7 Arizona 11-1 559
8 USC 12-0 517 +1
9 Auburn 12-1 512 +2
10 Michigan State 12-2 507
11 Iowa State 12-1 450 -3
12 Ohio St 9-2 412
13 Kentucky 11-2 344 +4
14 Houston 12-2 328
15 Villanova 9-4 286 +7
16 Texas 11-2 285 +2
17 Providence 13-1 284 +4
18 Tennessee 9-3 253 -3
19 Colorado St 10-0 229 +1
20 Alabama 10-3 223 -1
21 LSU 12-1 208 -5
22 Seton Hall 9-3 160 -9
23 Wisconsin 10-2 156
24 Xavier 11-2 136
25 Texas Tech 10-2 110

Schools Dropped Out

None

Others Receiving Votes

Illinois 37; Connecticut 30; Oklahoma 29; Loyola-Chicago 16; Arkansas 15; Minnesota 14; San Francisco 6; Brigham Young 5; Saint Mary’s 4; Florida 4; West Virginia 2; Florida State 1; Davidson 1

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Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners survive second-half flurry, top Kansas State State 71-69

Oklahoma dispatched of Kansas State, 71-69, on New Year’s Day to start Big 12 play 1-0. Here’s three things that stood out.

Oklahoma started Big 12 play with a 71-69 home win over Kansas State. After OU built a 15-point first-half lead and held a 33-22 halftime lead, the Wildcats made Oklahoma earn it late.

Here are three thoughts from Oklahoma’s Big 12 opener.

Elijah Harkless was clutch again

K-State sophomore Ish Massoud hit a 3-pointer to tie it up at 65 apiece with 1:03 to play in the second half. Oklahoma senior guard Elijah Harkless responded with the go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds remaining and the Sooners managed to hang on to start 1-0 in Big 12 play.

Harkless connected on all four of his three-point tries and finished with 21 points to lead the Sooners in scoring.

“Pretty comfortable I’d say. My teammates believed in me, telling me to take those shots. When you’ve got everybody in your corner, believe in your work and everything else will take care of itself,” Harkless said of his willingness to take shots late in games.

Senior guard Umoja Gibson added 19 points, redshirt senior guard Jordan Goldwire had 11 and junior forward Jalen Hill and freshman guard C.J. Noland each scored 10.

Kansas State got red-hot from 3-point range

After hitting just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half, Kansas State knocked down 9-of-16 from long range in the second half.

Missouri transfer Mark Smith finished with 25 points to lead the Wildcats. In the process, he became the first K-State player since All-American Michael Beasley to record a 25-point, 15-rebound game.

“You’ve got to give Kansas State credit. Second half, they were on fire. Nine for 16 from three. I thought Massoud, I thought Mark Smith was outstanding. Nijel Pack. The shots they made to keep coming and not quitting, you’ve got to give them credit. They just kept on coming, making big shots, deep shots that when you think if you get a couple stops, you’ve got the game. Nine for 16 with the way we’ve been guarding,” Oklahoma head basketball coach Porter Moser said.

As Moser pointed out, a lot of it was simply great shot-making from Kansas State. It was also important that OU managed to pull this game out after seeing its 15-point lead evaporate.

“It was huge because we had a 15-point lead and they crept back in. To find a way to win that game, it was big for us because it’s going to be a grind in this league,” Moser said.

Oklahoma won the game minus its leading scorer

Oklahoma was without the services of three players due to health and safety protocols, including its leading scorer and rebounder in senior center Tanner Groves.

Groves came into tonight averaging 14.3 points and six rebounds per game. The Sooners were also minus junior forward Jacob Groves or freshman guard Bijan Cortes.

Moser was happy with how his team responded to being shorthanded against Kansas State.

“I think the biggest thing was coming back from Christmas you know the fatigue is always going to be an issue that first game and then all of a sudden we find out we’re going to be three down. We had a lot of guys have to play a lot of minutes that they haven’t played before. To guard Kansas State, their movement, their slips, their flares. They’re hard to guard. All of a sudden that’s one of the most minutes we’ve played all year. A lot of minutes because we’re shorthanded, but we found a way to win,” Moser said.

Up next:

Oklahoma enters this week set to square off against a pair of top-10 opponents. On Tuesday at 6 p.m., OU travels to Waco to battle defending national champion and No. 1 Baylor. Then, the Sooners will host No. 8 Iowa State on Saturday inside the Lloyd Noble Center at 5 p.m.

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