While the Sooners didn’t play North Carolina a year ago in the Jumpman Invitational, their fans’ presence was felt.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are college basketball royalty. They have the third most wins all-time with 2,343. They also have the third most championships all-time with six, most recently in 2017.
The Tar Heels are also undefeated against the Oklahoma Sooners in the history of each program. The Sooners look to change that with a win on Wednesday.
But they are going to have to do that in front of one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports; the Tar Heel faithful. While this technically isn’t an away game, it’ll be played in Charlotte, NC as a part of the Jumpman Invitational.
The Sooners defeated the Florida Gators last year in the Jumpman Invitational and Porter Moser shared that even though North Carolina wasn’t their opponent, their fans were out in droves. “I was there last year and even in our Florida game, it was all baby blue,” Moser said. “We know they are a storied program so our guys are excited about the next one up.”
The Tar Heels come into that game just outside the top 10 whereas the Sooners are firmly cemented in the top 10 as of now. Ultimately, this will be a measuring stick game to see if this Oklahoma team is for real as a top 10 team or if they are not.
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The Oklahoma Sooners climbed into the top 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
In their 10-0 start, the Oklahoma Sooners have shown that they’re one of the best teams in the nation. They’ve picked up significant wins over Arkansas, Iowa, USC, and Providence along the way to create a nice resume for the NCAA tournament committee to consider ahead of conference play.
As one of four unbeaten teams in the 2023-2024 men’s basketball season, the Oklahoma Sooners have moved up four spots to No. 8 in the nation in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
They have a huge top 15 matchup incoming as they head to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte.
Purdue took over the top spot after being the previous No. 1 in the coaches poll, Arizona. The Boilermakers are followed by Kansas at No. 2 and Houston at No. 3. Arizona dropped three places to No. 4. UConn rounds out the top 5.
The Sooners represent the third-highest Big 12 team. Baylor at No. 10, BYU, at No. 15 and Texas at No. 23 round out the conference’s representation in the coaches poll.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
Auburn 60; Miami (FL) 41; Colorado 36; TCU 26; Michigan State 18; Ohio State 17; Grand Canyon 13; Iowa State 12; Utah 7; Texas A&M 7; South Carolina 5; New Mexico 4; Nebraska 4; Princeton 3; Nevada 3; San Diego State 2; Alabama 2; Indiana State 1; Dayton 1
The Oklahoma Sooners put on a show in their win over Green Bay, but Porter Moser believes they still have room to improve.
The Oklahoma Sooners are 10-0 and one of just four undefeated teams remaining in college basketball. After a pair of lackluster seasons to start the Porter Moser era, the Sooners are off to a blistering start in the 2023-2024 season.
It was the Sooners’ fourth 30-point win of the season and seventh by 20 or more. And it was a game where their depth continued to show out. Seven players scored eight or more points, with three in double figures.
On the season, the Sooners have three players ([autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag], [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], and [autotag]John Hugley IV[/autotag]) averaging more than 10 points per game. They also have three more players ([autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag], [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag], and [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag] averaging more than eight points per game.
[autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag] and [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] are averaging just under eight points per game, giving the Sooners eight players scoring seven or more points per game this season.
As impressive as the offensive numbers are, the defense is what is turning heads. Oklahoma had 12 steals and four blocks while forcing 20 Green Bay turnovers. On the glass, the Sooners outrebounded the Phoenix 42-26 in the win.
It was another strong statement to the NCAA tournament selection committee. Sure, the opponent isn’t going to move the needle, but the way Oklahoma has dominated teams like Green Bay will certainly make the committee take notice in March.
But according to [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag], this is a team that can continue to improve.
“I see the gaps of mistakes keep shrinking,” head coach Porter Moser said after the win. “And here’s what’s crazy: I feel like we’ve got a big room to get better, and I think (the players) would say the same thing.”
It was just a one-point game with just under six minutes to play in the first half. But then, the Sooners turned up the defensive pressure, forcing six turnovers in the final six minutes and going on a 15-0 run to close the half.
The Oklahoma Sooners have just three more nonconference games before opening Big 12 play with a date against Iowa State. The biggest test to date comes when they travel to Charlotte, N.C., to take on the UNC Tar Heels in their backyard. The Tar Heels might have three losses on the schedule, but it’s the Tar Heels. They’re one of the blue bloods in college basketball.
Wednesday’s game in the Jumpman Invitational provides Moser and the Sooners an opportunity to put a feather in their cap before the grind of Big 12 play begins. With the way the Sooners are playing, it’s hard to count them out of any contest. They’re simply finding ways to win with their efforts at both ends of the floor.
Oklahoma offers 2024 EDGE Amaris Williams out of North Carolina.
Clemson’s proximity to the state of North Carolina made it a highly attractive destination for the Tigers’ coaching staff to frequent on the recruiting trail. Brent Venables and Todd Bates used this to their advantage while they were at Clemson together. They have recruited multiple four and five-star players from North Carolina.
Now in Norman, that plan of action has not changed. Todd Bates recently offered 2024 DL Amaris Williams out of Clinton, NC. Williams is being recruited by the big in-state schools like UNC and NC State. However, the Sooners have now tossed their hat into the ring for the 2024 EDGE defender.
Williams is blossoming from a local in-state name into a national prospect, gaining offers from teams on the west coast, like USC. Could he follow the same trajectory as 2023 edge signee Adepoju Adebawore, who was starting to gain some traction this time last year?
Oklahoma’s going to have to make up ground if they want to figure into this race as UNC and NC State have both made noticeable impressions early on.
Oklahoma has no commitments in 2024 as it stands right now. Like in 2023, it could be a bit before the Sooners have their first name on the commitment sheet. The EDGE position group is wide open at the moment. With that information, Oklahoma’s board at that position is far from set in stone and is still taking shape.
Oklahoma returns to action on Tuesday against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Here’s how you can tune into the action. From @thatmanbryant
The Oklahoma Sooners play the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Tuesday, November 11, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
Oklahoma laces up their Jordans in a return to action Tuesday night against the Colonial Athletic Association’s UNC-Wilmington. The Seahawks hail from the coast of North Carolina, where legend Michael Jordan grew up and played his high school basketball.
It’s been an inauspicious start to the season for the Sooners, who suffered a loss in the first game of the season in which they collapsed late and lost to Sam Houston State 52-51. They got back at it this past Friday and made their way into the win column after beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 66-58.
Elsewhere, the Seahawks started their season by making the 2 hour trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on the nation’s number-one team, the UNC Tarheels. They held firm for about 25 minutes of game time before UNC hit a different gear and took control to win the game. They bounced back with a 104-55 victory over Allen on Friday, Nov 11. The Seahawks are coached by Takayo Siddle, who is in his third year as head coach and has compiled a 35-20 record.
These teams will meet for the first time in each other’s history on Tuesday night.
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As the Sooners continue to stay scalding hot in July, landing yet another commitment. This time from four-star LB Lewis Carter.
Don’t let the lede deceive you. The Oklahoma Sooners are far from lucky this month. This type of recruiting success takes planning, hard work, and maybe just a little luck.
Nonetheless, the Sooners are as hot as an mid-July summer day on the recruiting trail. They landed their seventh commitment in July, when 2023 linebacker Lewis Carter pledged to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon.
Carter, a four-star linebacker out of the Tampa area, chose Oklahoma over Auburn, UNC, Clemson, Florida, Miami, and UCF.
He’s smaller in build for a linebacker and maybe has long-term potential as a sub-package linebacker that plays in the box as a strong safety on other downs. He’s very athletic and that quality is the first thing that jumps out to you when watching his film.
After a fast and furious morning of predictions yesterday, Carter wasted no time locking in his future home.
With Carter’s commitment, Oklahoma is fine No. 10 nationally for recruiting in the 2023 class.
His pledge potentially closes up shop for linebacker recruiting for 2023 barring a very surprising commitment.
Carter’s recruitment was pretty swift as the Sooners only offered the Florida linebacker in May. He visited officially the weekend of June 10th, and about five weeks later he is now a member of the Sooners “CHO23N” class. Carter was offered by Venables when the first-year Sooners head coach was still the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Clemson, so the relationship was well established before the Sooners’ offer came in.
The Floridian joins four-star Samuel Omosigho, three-star Phil Picciotti, and three-star Kaleb Spencer as new linebackers to be coached by Ted Roof and Brent Venables. Carter’s commitment gives Oklahoma sixteen commitments in total.
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Oklahoma Sooners Marvin Mims is one of the top 10 returning wide receivers according to Rivals’ Mike Farrell.
The Oklahoma Sooners’ passing game took a bit of a hit over the offseason with the transfers of [autotag]Mario Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag] and the NFL draft departure of [autotag]Mike Woods[/autotag]. While the Sooners lost their top three wide receivers in targets and receptions, they’re bringing back arguably their best wide receiver over the last two seasons, [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag].
Mims production in 2021 was a product of circumstance. After leading the team in receptions and yards in 2020, expectations soared for the sophomore receiver heading into last season. With the depth and the inconsistent nature of the offense, it was difficult for Mims to find consistent opportunities last fall.
As teams began to take the deep ball away from the offense, little adjustments were made to get Marvin Mims opportunities in the short to intermediate parts of the field. Just 15 of his 41 targets on the season were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Only 37% of Mims targets went to the short part of the field. Compare that to Mike Woods (59%), Mario Williams (54%), and Jadon Haselwood (48%), and it’s clear that Lincoln Riley didn’t know how to get his best wide receiver involved. And that doesn’t account for the number of routes run deep down the field where he didn’t get the ball thrown his way.
But as the Sooners look to the future with [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] as the offensive coordinator and Cale Gundy as the wide receivers coach, there’s renewed optimism in Marvin Mims and his ability to lead a wide receiver group that has talent but also has something to prove. Last week, Mike Farrell released his top 10 wide receivers returning for the 2022 season, and Marvin Mims came in at No. 7.
Mims is joined by three other Big 12 wide receivers, including Xavier Hutchinson of Iowa State at No. 10, Quentin Johnston of TCU at No. 5, and Xavier Worthy of Texas at No. 4.
The Big 12 leads the way with four wide receivers in Farrell’s top 10. The ACC is next with three, followed by the Big 10 with two, and the SEC with one.
Looking over this list, it’s clear that Mims could be more involved in the offense. Five of the top 10 wide receivers on the list had more than double the number of receptions that Mims saw in 2021. Two of those receivers had three times as many receptions last year.
Heading into his third season, Marvin Mims has a chance to lead the Oklahoma Sooners in receiving yardage yet again. His big-play potential has stood out since he stepped foot in Norman. Will Jeff Lebby get him involved in other ways instead of solely relying on him as a deep threat? Based on the number of plays and the tempo Lebby wants to play with, Mims will have a chance to put up big numbers in 2022.
Here’s a look at the top 10 returning receivers according to Mike Farrell and their numbers from 2021.
In a game where the final score certainly counts as a surprising stat, Wisconsin’s 85-62 win over North Carolina in round one of the NCAA Tournament had statistical surprises all over the final box score.
The Badgers were expected to lose the rebounding battle against a North Carolina team that pulls down more offensive rebounds than any team in the nation. Wisconsin has struggled to shoot the basketball for the past three months, despite finding a little something in that regard during the Big Ten tournament.
Tonight you can throw all that out the window. Here are three surprising stats from Wisconsin’s 85-62 win over North Carolina:
The Wisconsin Badgers are heading to a familiar arena in round one of the NCAA Tournament, but that isn’t exactly a positive thing. As a 9-seed in the south region of the bracket, Wisconsin will open with 8-seed North Carolina at Mackey Arena, the home of the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Badgers are historically horrendous at Mackey Arena, granted they have never played an opponent not named Purdue in the building. Wisconsin is 4-42 all-time at Mackey Arena vs the Boilermakers, but they meet a different opponent in the building on Friday.
The Georgia Bulldogs are looking to add another cornerback recruit in the class of 2021 after the commitment of Tony Grimes.
Five-star 2021 cornerback Tony Grimes recently committed to North Carolina Tar Heels. Grimes was Georgia’s top target at the position in the class. Georgia was considered second-best in the running for his commitment
Grimes, out of Virginia Beach, ranks as the nation’s No. 1 cornerback in the 2021 class. He is also America’s No. 7 player overall and the best player in the state of Virginia.
Now that he’s committed to UNC, where does Georgia go from here? The Bulldogs currently have a commitment from David Daniel, a four-star defensive back/athlete, but Georgia could lose both Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes to the 2021 NFL Draft. That means Kirby Smart and Georgia will likely be looking for a pair of cornerback recruits in the class of 2021.
First of all, it starts with the class of 2020. Georgia secured a commitment and signing from five-star corner Kelee Ringo. Additionally, Jalen Kimber, a four-star cornerback from Texas, figures to be a contender to start at corner in 2021.
Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning, and the Georgia Bulldog defense will find an elite talent at cornerback. The main question is who? Nyland Green hails from Eric Stokes’ hometown of Covington, Georgia and is a four-star recruit. He’s considered the top in-state cornerback.
De’Jahn Warren, a top 2021 community college recruit, is strongly considering UGA as well. Warren visited Athens back in December, but is favored to stay local and attend Penn State.
Lastly, Georgia is in the race for the best recruit in West Virginia in Isaiah Johnson. John is a four-star cornerback from Bluefield High School.
We’ll continue to update you throughout Georgia’s recruiting efforts. The NCAA has extended the dead period for recruiting.
