It's only January, and the biggest question Sooner Nation has isn't if the Oklahoma men's basketball team will make the NCAA Tournament, but what will it take to fire the head coach?
The Sooners are 13-4 after a hot start and undefeated record through the nonconference schedule, but now they're on a four-game losing streak while beginning SEC play 0-4. And it's not just those four losses that has OU coach Porter Moser on the hot seat.
Sooner Nation has watched this before. Moser's OU squads have a habit of starting hot then fizzling out during conference play and coming up short in big games. In his fourth season, Moser has yet to lead the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament.
Although a chunk of Sooner Nation has been fed up with Moser before this season even tipped off, Wednesday night was probably the tipping point for the rest of the fan base. The Sooner lost to their biggest rival, Texas, 77-73, in Norman.
OU came out flat, getting down by as many as 23 points to an average Texas squad before finally showing some fight in the final 10 minutes. But it was already too late by that point.
The loss extended the Sooners' losing streak to four games and was their second straight loss to an unranked team. It also probably knocked OU out of the current projected NCAA Tournament field, most likely getting replaced by Texas, which entered the game on the bubble. Then on top of season implications, it also made Moser's record against Texas 0-7, as he's never beaten OU's biggest rival.
The things that Moser needs to do the most -- mainly get to the postseason and beat a rival -- are the things he hasn't done at all. That has Sooner Nation ready to move on from its coach, but what would it cost Oklahoma to get rid of Moser?
The most recent report on Moser's buyout has it at about $6.5 million, which is what it would cost OU to fire Moser without cause (and no, not winning basketball games is not considered a cause). That is down, though, compared to USA Today's report of a buyout of $10,293,750 last year.
There was also a group of OU fans who even wanted Moser gone after last season when the Sooners were snubbed from the NCAA Tournament after another poor showing in conference play (that time in the Big 12). Instead, Moser was given a $100,000 raise, bumping his salary to $3.2 million after going 54-45 during his first three seasons at OU.
Moser's contract also includes a "Stay Benefit," meaning he gets a bonus everytime he stays with OU instead of going somewhere else to coach. That stay benefit was $400,000 after the first season and has been $200,000 since. So while some fans wanted Moser gone last year, he got an extra $300,000 to stick around.
When OU hired Moser away from Loyola Chicago and paid his $750,000 buyout, Moser signed a contract that runs through 2028.