Oklahoma men’s basketball is in a tailspin. The Sooners have dropped nine straight games and sit at the bottom of the SEC standings-a tough place to be for a program with a proud history and a fanbase that’s used to more.
With the losses piling up, it feels like a coaching change is all but inevitable. Porter Moser’s seat isn’t just warm-it’s scorching.
And while fans are already dreaming up a shortlist of replacements, there’s a hard truth to consider: the Oklahoma job might not be as attractive as some think.
This week, Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 released a set of SEC coaching job rankings, based on anonymous input from coaches and assistants around the league. The Sooners came in at No. 14 out of 16 programs-only ahead of Mississippi State and South Carolina. That’s a sobering placement for a school with Oklahoma’s athletic pedigree, and it raises real questions about how the job is viewed within the coaching community.
Now, Goodman didn’t go into detail about why the Sooners landed so low, but the reasons aren’t exactly a mystery to those following the program closely. Let’s start with the atmosphere-or lack thereof.
Oklahoma currently ranks dead last in the SEC in average attendance, drawing just 4,933 fans per game. For context, that’s nearly 2,000 fewer than Vanderbilt, the next-lowest team.
And it’s not just a this-year issue. Last season, even with an NCAA Tournament appearance and a future NBA lottery pick in Jeremiah Fears, OU still finished at the bottom in attendance at 4,814 per game.
The argument that winning cures all is valid-Lloyd Noble Center has proven it can fill up when there’s something worth watching. The women’s team is drawing strong crowds, and back in the Lon Kruger days, the men’s side had the building buzzing.
But in today’s college basketball landscape, winning takes more than just tradition-it takes talent. And talent, more often than not, follows the money.
That’s where the Sooners have fallen behind. In the NIL era, programs that want to compete at a high level have to invest like it.
Oklahoma hasn’t shown the same financial commitment to men’s basketball that it has in other sports, and it’s showing on the court. Ironically, this year’s roster might be Moser’s most talented group yet, but the results have been the worst of his tenure.
That disconnect says a lot.
Still, even if the coaching job isn’t viewed as elite right now, a change at the top could be the first step toward rebuilding the program’s reputation. Oklahoma may not land its dream candidate, but bringing in a new voice-someone who can energize the fanbase, recruit in the NIL era, and restore some swagger-would be a crucial move in the right direction.
The Sooners have history, facilities, and a passionate fanbase waiting to re-engage. But to get back on track, they need leadership that can navigate the modern game.
That starts with making the right hire-whether it’s a big name or a rising star. Because right now, the program isn’t just losing games; it’s losing relevance.
And that’s a much bigger problem.