OU basketball falls short in NCAA Tournament, where do Porter Moser, Sooners go from here?
RALEIGH, N.C. — Jalon Moore rushed down the floor and finished a fast break layup off the glass to tie UConn at 54 with six minutes left in the game.
Oklahoma was doing exactly what it planned in Friday night's NCAA Tournament opener — moving the ball and turning defense into offense. But on the ensuing possessions, true freshmen guards Jeremiah Fears and Dayton Forsythe missed buckets down low and the Sooners never recovered after Huskies forward Alex Karaban's 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining to go up four and Tarris Reed Jr.'s tip in to take a six-point lead with 2:50 left.
"It went from one to six on two straight possessions where we tried to take on the trees, and we shouldn't," OU coach Porter Moser said postgame. "We were spacing it."
Despite a staunch defensive effort, the Sooners shot 32.1% from the field, ending their season to UConn 67-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Entering the 2024-25 campaign, Moser and OU were under immense pressure to be selected into the field after barely missing the cut for three consecutive seasons.
In that way, the season can be viewed as a success. Moser's group showed resiliency down the stretch, winning three Quad 1 games in a row but finishing the way the Sooners did on Friday night encapsulated most of the season — inconsistent play and the struggle to close games.
“I’ll say this,” Moser said when asked about the direction of the program. “To get your basketball program where you (want) you have to win in April and May. You have to win in April and May with the NIL. How hard these guys are playing, the narrative of last year and this year there were no bid steals. Someone was talking about the injuries. We had three major injuries down the stretch last year and there were five bid steals. The narrative could be two straight (tournament appearances). For us? Retention. You've got to win in April and May in the NIL to do that.
“I’m so proud of how these guys fought through. All four years, the No. 1 basketball conference. Our competition with the NIL with what we have. I thought to be able to compete, the guys resiliency in this league. I’m so proud of how these guys fought through hard to get to where we are. I’m excited about the future.”
For the most part on Friday night, OU's offense — which ranked in the top 25 in efficiency by KenPom entering the contest — got what it wanted but missed wide-open shots. Fears led the game with 20 points with five rebounds and four assists, while Moore added 13 points.
Most suspected the game would come down to the Huskies' bigs and the Sooners' ability to make 3s, Karaban and Reed won the battle with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"We did some things in not having a lot of layups fall early," Moser said. "It was one of our poorest 3-point shooting nights. We've been uber efficient offensively. I think we were 23 or 24 in offensive efficiency coming into the game. But, yeah, those last — those two possessions, and then we took a 3, air balled a 3 from the corner on an out of bounds play.
"The two ones that stick out are the back-to-back driving in and one of our guards trying to take on when we could kick and play close-out basketball. And they capitalized on it. Karaban, now he's won 13 games, I think, in a row, and he showed why. That 3 and that midrange shot that he hit were two big shots for them."
It's unclear what the future holds for Moser, whose name has come up for the Villanova job, and OU. The Sooners' roster will likely look vastly different as every offseason is free agency in college basketball.
Will OU improve its NIL in order to remain competitive and chase another tourney appearance? We won't know the answers to these questions until the transfer portal season — which begins Monday — is over.
But regardless of what happens with Moser or the Sooners, he took a minute to recognize Fears, Moore and the collective group for the run they had.
"All of a sudden, these guys kept on believing," Moser said, appearing to get emotional. "That's what I'll remember this team by is the adversity we had to go through with this league and then to keep trying to find a way. And when Sam went out, to win three Quad 1 wins in a row, win at your rival on the road with your back against the wall, that's resiliency.
"These guys will always remember that."
Colton Sulley covers OU athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball future uncertain after March Madness exit vs UConn
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