Five reasons Oklahoma was one-and-done in NCAA Tournament return

Oklahoma's return to the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence was a quick one.

UConn led for all but 17 seconds in its opening-round game against the 9-seeded Sooners, but held off an Oklahoma rally in what became a nip-and-tuck game over the final 10 minutes before posting a 67-59 win.

The Sooners, led by their superstar freshman Jeremiah Fears, gave it everything they had.

"I couldn't have asked for any better effort from our guys," said head coach Porter Moser in his postgame comments.

But in the end, Oklahoma's fight and resiliency couldn't overcome the offensive balance, experience and championship DNA of the two-time defending national champions Huskies.

Oklahoma overcame a 10-point first-half deficit and fought back from down nine points in the second half. Seven consecutive points by Alabama transfer Mohamed Wague, filling in for the injured Sam Godwin, gave Oklahoma its first and only lead in the game, 47-46, at the 9:03 mark in the second half.

UConn quickly responded with five unanswered points to go back in front 52-47, but the Sooners showed the resilience they have displayed all season, fighting back to tie the score at 54-all with six minutes remaining. That's the point where the UConn experience and better familiarity with the big stage of the NCAA Tournament took control of the game.

The Sooners finished the 2024-25 season, the fourth under Moser, with a 20-14 overall record, a season full of ups and downs. OU started out 13-0, including wins over three teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game. Things changed dramatically, though, when the conference season began.

The Sooners lost four straight games to begin SEC play and also endured a difficult stretch in February in which they lost six of eight games, only to rebound and win the final two regular-season games and defeat Georgia in a first-round rematch in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament to earn their way into the NCAA Tournament.

What the future holds beyond this season for Oklahoma is a bit cloudy. The Sooners are going to have to replenish practically their entire roster, as they have for each of the last four seasons. All of the transfers who played in OU's NCAA Tournament appearance are out of eligibility and freshman Jeremiah Fears is expected to declare for the NBA Draft.

In addition, there is speculation that Moser is considered a top candidate for the open coaching job at Villanova.

Plenty of concerns and questions to be answered in what is certain to be a busy offseason.

Here are five reasons the Sooners are headed home now instead advancing to the round of 32 in this year's NCAA Tournament.

1. Well-below-average shooting

It's a fundamental fact that you have to be able to put the ball in the basket to win basketball games, and that truth becomes even more imperative in big games. Oklahoma entered its NCAA Tournament first-round game against UConn with a 48.7 field-goal percentage. The Sooner ranked fourth in the SEC this season shooting 36.5% from behind the 3-point line.

OU shot 29% from the field in the first half and just 32% (17 of 54) for the game. The 17 field goals tied a season low. The Sooners were even worse from 3-point range, going 3-for-17 (17.6%). Free throws (22 of 27) were the only things that kept Oklahoma in this game.

2. Lack of size, length and physicality in paint

The Sooners were seriously outmanned and outsized in the post. OU's Mohamed Wague played his best game of the season (9 points, 12 rebounds), but the minutes he had to log were much higher than his season average, and you could see it was taking its toll late in the game, plus the fact that he's currently fasting because of Ramadan.

A number of Oklahoma drives to the basket with the contest in doubt late in the game were rejected, and it appeared that UConn was able to get to the basket with reasonable regularity, taking advantage of the Sooners' lack of rim protection, and usually with a player in position should the shot miss the mark.

3. Absence of offensive balance, consistency

For the Sooners, it was Jeremiah Fears and everyone else. Fears scored a game-high 20 points, including two big 3-point shots that came in critical times in the flow of the game.

Jalon Moore, OU's second leading scorer on the season, missed all five of his field-goal attempts in the first half, his only points coming on two free throws. He did get things going in the second half to end up with 11 points total, five below his season average, but his no-show in the opening 20 minutes was sorely missed and could have made a difference in the outcome of the game.

In contrast, UConn had three players in double digits with 12 or more points and three others with eight points. The Huskies were able to find offense when it was needed with more scoring options.

4. Bench production

UConn's reserves outscored Oklahoma's bench 20-7.

5. UConn's experience, championship pedigree

Finally, UConn's overall talent advantage, big-game experience and championship pedigree -- the Huskies are two-time defending national champions, after all -- were the deciding differences in UConn advancing and the Sooners going home.

Obviously, this is not the same UConn team of the past couple of years, but it is still a very talented, together and dangerous team with a national championship coach.

Those factors alone were too much for Oklahoma to overcome.

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