What's the opposite of hype? Well, let it begin for the Oklahoma Sooners' 2026-27 men's basketball season.
With four months until the season tips off, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein released his own SEC Preseason Power Rankings with the Sooners at No. 13, better than only three other programs in the conference. That foreshadows not only a depressing offseason in Oklahoma leading up to basketball season, but even more disappointment once Year 6 under Porter Moser actually starts.
Florida topped Rothstein's rankings, followed by Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M, Georgia, Auburn and Ole Miss, respectively, ahead of OU. Below the Sooners were Mississippi State, South Carolina and LSU.
SEC Preseason Power Rankings. pic.twitter.com/z1GHHkQKaN
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 1, 2026
Porter Moser's make-or-break season could go the same as the previous 5
With the way things have been going the last two years for the SEC, there's a very real chance every team ahead of the Sooners, if these rankings were true, made the NCAA Tournament. But that would also mean Oklahoma staying home in March for the fifth time in six seasons with Moser leading the way. That's unacceptable in Norman no matter how daunting the conference is.
This is a make-or-break season for Moser. Roger Denny, with his first major move as OU's new athletic director, brought back Moser with the promise of more resources to help the head coach succeed. That included more NIL funds for players and also adding a general manager in Lucas McCay to help find that talent that's worth paying.
The immediate result was Moser's roster finally not getting completely decimated over the offseason as he annually lost his star players to the transfer portal. Last season's leading scorer, guard Xzayvier Brown, will return, as well as Derrion Reid, Dayton Forsythe and Kai Rogers.
Using the portal, the Sooners added Khani Rooths from Louisville, Tyler Hendricks from Utah Valley and Pop Isaacs from Texas A&M to join those retained players. Moser also took advantage of the newest college basketball trend by using the NBA's G League to find a big man in Akoldah Gak.
Read more: What Oklahoma's starting lineup should be after adding G-League player Akoldah Gak
Retaining players and filling holes with viable options made for the most exciting offseason in Norman yet with Moser in control. However, Rothstein obviously isn't buying the hype.
One thing can be certain, the Sooners once again under Moser will start out hot thanks to an underwhelming non-conference slate. Then, if Rothstein's prediction is close to correct, they will once again crash and burn during SEC play as Moser has never had a winning conference record while at the helm.
OU fans already have little reason to have any belief in the men's basketball program, but for those that had any hope, Rothstein is already crushing it before Moser eventually does. If there's any silver lining to what Rothstein projects, it's for those fans who desperately want Moser gone because there's no way he survives from the bottom of the SEC again.
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