OU Basketball: No. 25 Oklahoma Follows Gritty Bedlam Win With Huge Test in Waco
NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma men’s basketball team displayed resilience when it defeated rival Oklahoma State 66-62 Saturday in Lloyd Noble Center.
Now third-year head coach Porter Moser hopes the 25th-ranked Sooners will maintain that resolve in Waco on Tuesday.
“There were a lot of ups and downs in that game, a lot of adversity in that game, and just to find a way to win, that’s what you take away,” Moser told members of the media Monday in Norman. “Sometimes it’s not pretty. Sometimes things aren’t going your way, whether it’s a bad call, a missed free throw, a missed shot, a turnover. But there’s a million ways to find ways to win these games. And that’s what we took out of our guys.”
The Sooners (18-6, 6-5) travel to play No. 12 Baylor (17-6, 6-5) at the Foster Pavillion in Waco, TX, on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The Bears, who dropped a 64-61 game to No. 4 Kansas on the road Saturday, have won 10 consecutive regular season meetings against the Sooners.
“Late Saturdays-Tuesday turnarounds, especially on the road ... yesterday was so much about prepping for Baylor. We work out (Monday) and leave,” Moser said. “(I have) so much respect for Baylor and how they do things. They do so many things well to prepare for. Defensively, they’re always switching up their ball screen coverages. They’re switching up their zone. They press.”
Moser said the Sooners' offense will have to move the ball to avoid becoming stale against the Bears. OU ranks 10th in the league in assists this season. Milos Uzan was responsible for six assists and committed only three turnovers against the Cowboys; he’ll be tasked with facilitating with similar efficiency again Tuesday.
“Offensively, (Baylor has) so much movement and creativity, and they keep surrounding themselves with elite guards,” Moser said.
Baylor’s backcourt of Ja’Kobe Walter, RayJ Dennis and Jayden Nunn averages a combined 37 points a game. Dennis has dished a conference second-best 148 assists this year. Langston Love pours in 11.5 points per game off the Bears' bench.
Forward Jalen Bridges gives the Bears a spark in several facets of the game on both ends with 10.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a game, 39 assists, 18 steals and 15 blocks this season.
“[Bridges] really hurt us last year; a ton of respect for him and how hard he plays and how skilled he is,” Moser said.
Milos Uzan
NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
Seven-foot center Yves Missi has rejected a conference second-best 37 shots this year to go with 11.0 points and 5.9 boards per game.
“[There’s] lot to go into prepping for Baylor on a short turnaround," Moser said. “You’ve got to have resiliency and grit and a togetherness when you’re trying to battle on the road in this league.”
“Resilient” was also a good word to describe Moser’s attitude when Monday’s questions shifted to reports and even rumors about him leaving Norman after the 2023-24 season.
Amid mostly speculation, the 55-year old coach has been linked to the DePaul job as the Blue Demons have struggled to a 3-20 record this season. Moser, an Illinois native, coached 15 minutes from DePaul at Loyola-Chicago from 2011-21, and made NCAA Final Four appearance in 2018.
But if the DePaul job has enticed Moser, he didn’t show it. He chalked it up to “rumor mill fodder.”
“[I] haven’t talked to anybody, not even thinking about anything. I’m just absolutely not even engaging in anything like that, 100 percent,”Moser said. “[I’m] so excited about where we’re at with the team. This is everything we’ve tried to build for, is being in this position.”
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