Porter Moser, Sooners Drop Eighth Straight as Pressure Mounts in Norman
When new Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny stepped to the podium earlier this week for his introductory press conference, he didn’t mince words about what the Sooners expect from their athletic programs: dynasties. That’s the bar in Norman. And as the men’s basketball team dropped its eighth straight game Saturday - a 79-69 home loss to rival Texas - the gap between expectation and reality under head coach Porter Moser has never felt wider.
Let’s be clear: losing to Texas always stings in Norman. Doing it at home, while blowing yet another late lead, only adds salt to the wound.
The Sooners are now staring down the barrel of a potential program-worst losing streak. The record is 10.
They’re two games away.
Moser’s tenure has been a rollercoaster - and not the fun kind. Saturday’s loss dropped him to 1-8 all-time against Texas, OU’s most heated rival.
That lone win? It came at the tail end of last season, when the Sooners pieced together a late surge to sneak into the NCAA Tournament.
That stretch included a much-needed win in Austin, giving Moser his first Red River Rivalry victory and his first postseason berth at Oklahoma.
That late-season magic essentially saved his job. But lightning doesn’t strike twice often in college basketball - and it certainly doesn’t seem to be gathering over Norman right now.
The Sooners’ inability to close games has become a troubling trend. Once again on Saturday, they had a lead late, and once again, they couldn’t hold it.
The Longhorns out-executed them down the stretch, and the Sooners had no answers. That’s been the story of this losing streak - competitive stretches undone by poor finishes and missed opportunities.
Denny, for his part, isn’t rushing to pull the plug. He acknowledged this week that fixing men’s basketball isn’t as simple as making a coaching change.
He plans to sit down with Moser and evaluate what needs to change. Still, Denny made one thing abundantly clear: Oklahoma expects more.
And that’s the heart of the issue. In a program where beating Texas and making the NCAA Tournament are viewed not as achievements, but as baseline expectations, Moser hasn’t consistently delivered. Outside of last season’s late push, the results have fallen short.
The Sooners are now in danger of missing March Madness yet again. And unless Moser can engineer another improbable turnaround - one even more dramatic than last year’s - postseason hopes are fading fast.
Denny may be new to Norman, but he already understands what the Sooners demand. The question now is whether Moser can rise to meet that standard - or whether change is inevitable.