Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma basketball: New-look Sooners debut in exhibition win

By Chip Rouse

Apr 24, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners new head basketball coach Porter Moser waves to the crowd during the spring game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners new head basketball coach Porter Moser waves to the crowd during the spring game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Oklahoma basketball fans got their first look Monday night at what will be a virtually all-new Sooner team this season in a striking shooting exhibition and decisive win over Rogers State.

The Sooners nearly doubled the score in the exhibition contest against the Rogers State Hillcats, an NCAA Division II program. The 106-57 victory served as a tune up for the official 2021-22 season tip-off for men’s Oklahoma basketball on Nov. 9 against Northwestern State.

It was the first game action together for many on the Sooners’ roster and provided some insight on what we might expect from the new Porter Moser coaching era at OU.

The Sooners were dominant in all aspects of the game, but this was a game against a team from the lower division and you have to be careful not to read too much into it. There were some positive signs to draw from it, however.

Here are three things we learned from the 2021-22 Oklahoma hoops debut:

Porter Moser is bringing an exciting style of basketball to Norman

Moser likes his teams to have good ball movement, take high percentage shots and play with intensity on the defensive end. All of that was on display in the win over Rogers State. He likes his teams to create offense off of good defense. The Sooners created 14 turnovers on defense and registered 25 assists on offense.

It’s also important to remember that Moser only had four scholarship players on the roster when he arrived in Norman. In addition to building a coaching staff, Moser had to virtually rebuild an entire roster. He brought in six players from the transfer portal along with three OU recruits from the high school ranks.

From all appearances, it is all coming together nicely.

This team can shoot from everywhere

The Sooner offense scored 53 points in both halves on 70-percent shooting (39 of 56), including a highly impressive 67 percent from three point range, sinking 18 three-balls. Jacob Grove, one of two Grove brothers to transfer from Eastern Washington (the team that gave Kansas fits in the opening round of last year’s NCAA Tournament), led all scorers with 20 points. Umoja Gibson, a holdover from last season’s Sooner team, contributed 19.

Groves was seven of seven from the floor, and six of those were from long range. Gibson was seven-of-eight shooting and a perfect four of four on three-point shots.

Fourteen OU players saw action in the game, with no one logging more than 20 minutes of action.

Bench contribution was impressive

More than half of Oklahoma’s 106 points came from the bench. The Sooners scored 58 points off the bench, led by Jacob Groves’ 20 points. Freshman C.J. Noland added 13 and three other non-starters players had six points apiece.

Home/OU Basketball