Porter Moser enters the season with the pressure dialed all the way up, and Oklahoma’s first stumble did nothing to ease it.
The Sooners opened with a 68-64 home loss Monday to East Texas A&M, a game that turned on two ugly numbers: 15 missed free throws and 15 turnovers. Now they get a quick chance to steady themselves Friday night in Norman, Okla., when Mississippi Valley State opens its season.
Moser said the response has to start at the top.
"We're all going to own it," Moser said. "We're all going to own this together, starting with me, and I'm going to lead the charge of owning it and getting the momentum going back in the right direction."
Oklahoma had reason to believe this could be a different kind of year for Moser, who got a vote of confidence from new athletic director Roger Denny in the offseason and put together what looked like his most talented roster since arriving in 2021-22. Instead, the Sooners are already trying to recover from a disappointing start to Moser’s sixth season.
There is at least a chance for help. Xzayvier Brown, who averaged 15.4 points and 3.2 rebounds last season, could return after missing the opener with a lower-body injury.
Mississippi Valley State comes in with a very different kind of challenge in front of it. Mike Davis’ first season with the Delta Devils begins with 16 straight road games, most of them against power conference opponents and four against ranked teams.
The program has been stuck in a long slide, with no season above five wins since 2018-19 and no 10-win season since 2011-12, when it last reached the NCAA Tournament.
For Davis, it’s a return to the Southwestern Athletic Conference. His best run as a head coach came at Texas Southern from 2012-18, when he guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons. He also spent six seasons at Detroit Mercy, a stretch that ended with a 1-31 record in 2023-24.
"I want a team here that wants to be here early and they want to work hard and they're not down about losing a game at Baylor. They should be more down about not giving their all on the practice court," Davis said. "Because the two things that matter in the SWAC is the league championship and the conference tournament championship."
In Other News...
Big 12 Shakeup Could Change What Oklahoma Is Up Against
The Big 12 is heading into a leadership transition at a moment when the leagues direction matters plenty to Oklahoma. Commissioner Brett Yormark said he will step down on Jan. 31, ending a run that helped shape the conference through a stretch of real change and uncertainty. For the Sooners, who have long had to track every shift in the Big 12 landscape, the timing adds another layer of intrigue to a league already in motion.
Yormark said he plans to take a new role outside of college athletics, leaving the conference to sort out its next chapter without one of its most visible voices. For Oklahoma, the bigger question is what kind of Big 12 emerges from here and how that affects the competitive terrain around it. A change at the top does not alter the Sooners immediate business, but it does matter for the long view, especially in a conference where leadership decisions can ripple quickly. [Read more 🡒]
David Stones NFL Buzz Leaves One Big Question For Oklahoma Fans
USA TODAY Sports has already started looking ahead to 2027, and one of the more interesting projections for Oklahoma centers on defensive tackle David Stone. The mock draft has the New York Giants taking the five-star recruit with the 17th pick, a nod to the kind of early buzz Stone has built with a pair of notable performances this season against New Mexico and Mississippi State.
For Oklahoma fans, the projection is flattering, but it also comes with a familiar question about how long Stone will be around in Norman if his trajectory keeps rising. The Sooners are 4-4 and trying to steady their season with Florida next on the schedule, so the immediate focus is on getting back on track. Still, when a young defensive lineman is already showing up in future first-round conversations, it is the sort of development that tends to linger in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Faces A Tough Home Test With Little Margin For Error
Florida heads into its Week 10 matchup with Oklahoma at 5-3, but the recent slide has left little room for comfort. After losing three of its last four, the Gators are leaning heavily on running back Jadan Baugh to steady an offense that needs something dependable against a Sooners team that has had its own issues moving the ball efficiently on the ground and through the air.
The setting makes for a tricky home test, especially with betting markets treating this as a game where every possession matters. Oklahoma has not been clean enough offensively to inspire much confidence, but Floridas margin for error is just as thin, which is why this one feels like a crossroads game for both teams even before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]