Oklahoma basketball: Sooners’ begin an important and pivotal three-game stretch

Men’s Oklahoma basketball is coming off a 71-69 win over the Kansas State Wildcats to start Big 12 play.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that the road gets tougher from hereon. Oklahoma is in Waco, Texas, today, getting set to take on the top-ranked and defending national-champion Baylor Bears.

Oklahoma has started the Porter Moser era 11-2 (1-0 in Big 12 play), but the real play starts now. The Sooners take on the defending national champion Baylor Bears in Waco, a place that where the Sooners historically struggle.

In the last 5 meetings in Waco, the Sooners are a dismaying 0-5. It will be only the second true road game the Sooners have played this season.

Despite being shorthanded, Oklahoma finished off a nail-biting 71-69 win over Kansas State over the weekend, while the Bears defeated then eighth-ranked Iowa State 77-72, picking up an all-important road win. We will find out where this Oklahoma team is at in its development starting tonight in Waco.

Tanner Groves has been a key and important part of this Sooners’ team. Moser will have his big man back from COVID protocol along with Jacob Groves and Bijan Cortes.

Tanner Groves has been averaging a team high14.3 points along with 6.0 rebounds per game. Senior Elijah Harkless is doing a little bit of everything for the Sooners, averaging 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds, along with nearly three assists per game. Meanwhile, Umoji Gibson has been scorching hot from behind the arc. In the last four games, Gibson is shooting 49 percent from three-point range.

Another key part for the Sooners has been Jalen Hill, who has arguably been the most improved player on the team this season. Hill is averaging 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and shooting 68.7 percent from the field.

The Sooners captured a few big wins to start the 2021-22 season, including victories over Florida and Arkansas, both nationally ranked at the time. But this three-game stretch will be a wake-up call for Oklahoma.

The Sooners take on No. 1 Baylor tonight in Waco, No. 11 Iowa State Saturday in Norman, and No. 14 Texas in Austin on Jan. 11.

That’s the way it’s going to be in the Big 12 this season. Five Big 12 teams are ranked in the nation’s top 25 this week, and Oklahoma began the week just a couple of spots off from breaking into the top 25 in both major polls.

The Sooners will go through an early and difficult test facing three top-25 teams in the span of one week, but it will build Moser’s squad. After the difficult three-game stretch, the Sooners will play at TCU on Jan 15, then return home to take on the Kansas Jayhawks, ranked sixth this week in the Associated Press poll.

The Big 12 conference is set to be another grind-out season, something Moser’s squad may be built for.