OU basketball future uncertain after March Madness exit vs UConn

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Jalon Moore rushed down the floor and finished a fast break layup off the glass to tie UConn at 54 with six minutes left in the game.

Oklahoma was doing exactly what it planned in Friday night’s NCAA Tournament opener — moving the ball and turning defense into offense. But on the ensuing possessions, true freshmen guards Jeremiah Fears and Dayton Forsythe missed buckets down low and the Sooners never recovered after Huskies forward Alex Karaban’s 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining to go up four and Tarris Reed Jr.’s tip in to take a six-point lead with 2:50 left.

“It went from one to six on two straight possessions where we tried to take on the trees, and we shouldn’t,” OU coach Porter Moser said postgame. “We were spacing it.”

Despite a staunch defensive effort, the Sooners shot 32.1% from the field, ending their season to UConn 67-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Entering the 2024-25 campaign, Moser and OU were under immense pressure to be selected into the field after barely missing the cut for three consecutive seasons.

In that way, the season can be viewed as a success. Moser’s group showed resiliency down the stretch, winning three Quad 1 games in a row but finishing the way the Sooners did on Friday night encapsulated most of the season — inconsistent play and the struggle to close games.

More: Jeremiah Fears noncommittal about future with OU basketball, likely headed for NBA Draft

“I’ll say this,” Moser said when asked about the direction of the program. “To get your basketball program where you (want) you have to win in April and May. You have to win in April and May with the NIL. How hard these guys are playing, the narrative of last year and this year there were no bid steals. Someone was talking about the injuries. We had three major injuries down the stretch last year and there were five bid steals. The narrative could be two straight (tournament appearances). For us? Retention. You’ve got to win in April and May in the NIL to…

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Source link : https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/sooners/2025/03/22/ou-basketball-ncaa-tournament-sooners-porter-moser-jeremiah-fears-uconn/82610301007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-22 16:45:00

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