It's not just an overhyped assumption that the Oklahoma Sooners are terrible in conference play under Porter Moser, it's reality.
In their first season in the SEC and fourth under Moser, the Sooners are 3-10 in conference play after going a perfect 13-0 during their nonconference schedule. For Sooner Nation, it's like the sequel is the same as every other season Moser has directed at OU.
Last season, the Sooners started 12-1 in nonconference play before going 8-10 in their last season in the Big 12. OU has finished every nonconference slate under Moser with a winning record, yet Moser has never led the Sooners to more conference wins than losses.
Season | Overall Record | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|
2021-22 | 19-16 | 7-11 |
2022-23 | 15-17 | 5-13 |
2023-24 | 20-12 | 8-10 |
2024-25 (five games left) | 16-10 | 3-10 |
Between two different conferences, the Sooners are 23-44 in nearly four seasons worth of conference play under Moser. That gives Moser a 34.33 winning percentage in conference games while leading OU. And that number will likely get worse with five conference games and at least one tournament contest still left on the Sooners' schedule.
Moser's 34.33 conference winning percentage at OU is the worst in over 100 years. The Sooners' second-ever men's basketball coach, Bennie Owen, is the only coach with a worst winning percentage.
Owen's situation was extremely unique, though, especially for today's world of college sports. A former football player, Owen coached football, basketball and baseball at OU between 1905 and 1926.
He coached basketball in 1908-21, compiling a career 113–49 record. In 13 seasons coaching basketball, Owen had only two losing records and put together two undefeated seasons.
The Sooners didn't even join a conference, though, until Owen's last two seasons in 1919-20 and 1920-21. In the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, OU went 8-16 under Owen, a .333 winning percentage. It was the Sooners' first time ever even competing in a conference.
With Moser at the helm, it's as if the Sooners are literally back to square one. And things could actually, and will likely, get even worse.
The Sooners have five regular-season games left against SEC opponents, and the next four are against ranked teams. With this team's track record, those matchups will likely be blowouts.
If OU goes winless the rest of the way, Moser would have a 31.94 winning percentage, the worst in program history. He already has the worst among coaches who competed in a conference for more than two seasons.
In order for Moser to not finish the regular season (and likely his time in Norman) with OU's worst conference winning percentage, the Sooners would need to win at least two of their final five regular-season games. Just one win would tie Owen's mark.
Regardless, Moser has shown enough to know that his teams don't step up when the season matters most. On a leveled playing court with nearly equal talent and resources and when coaching factors the most, the Sooners are at their worst under Porter Moser.