OU men’s basketball coach Porter Moser calls Jeremiah Fears ‘a great fit’ for Sooners
OU men’s basketball coach Porter Moser calls Jeremiah Fears ‘a great fit’ for Sooners
The 2024-25 men’s college basketball season is right around the corner.
It’s a clean slate for every team, including those in Oklahoma. The state features four Division I programs, and all of them are looking to make strides after missing out on last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Here’s a preview of each Oklahoma team, including key departures, impactful additions and record predictions.
Oklahoma
- Head coach: Porter Moser
- 2023-24 record: 20-12 (8-10 Big 12)
The Sooners are still searching for their first NCAA tournament appearance under head coach Porter Moser, who’s entering his fourth season at the helm.
OU was the first team to miss the cut for the big dance last season, and it saw key players transfer away such as Javian McCollum (Georgia Tech), Otega Oweh (Kentucky) and Milos Uzan (Houston).
But the Sooners returned a good frontcourt duo of Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin. They then reloaded their backcourt with the additions of Long Beach State transfer guard Jadon Jones, Fairfield transfer guard Brycen Goodine and four-star freshman Jeremiah Fears.
OU has moved out of the unforgiving Big 12, but it’ll still face plenty of challenges in the SEC. I’m expecting the Sooners to continue their trend of finishing near the middle of the conference standings.
Prediction: 17-12 (8-10 SEC)
Oklahoma State
- Head coach: Steve Lutz
- 2023-24 record: 12-20 (4-14 Big 12)
After firing Mike Boynton in March, OSU hired Steve Lutz as its next head coach. He spent last season at Western Kentucky, where he led the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013.
The Cowboys only return three players, but one of them is Bryce Thompson. The graduate guard averaged 11.6 points and 1.9 rebounds last season.
OSU also added transfer guards Khalil Brantley (La Salle), Brandon Newman (Western Kentucky) and Arturo Dean (Florida International). Still, it doesn’t have a ton of size at center outside of 6-10 Xavier transfer Abou Ousame.
It’s hard to predict just how good this OSU team will be because it has so many new pieces, but it’ll likely experience its fair share of struggles as it navigates a brutal Big 12 schedule.
Prediction: 13-16 (6-14 Big 12)
Oral Roberts
- Head coach: Russell Springmann
- 2023-24 record: 12-19 (5-11 Summit League)
Last season was a transition period for Oral Roberts, which hired Russell Springmann as its head coach following Paul Mills’ departure to Wichita State. The Golden Eagles posted a losing record for the first time since 2019.
Oral Roberts then lost two of its top three scorers, but Issac McBride is back for his senior season. The 6-foot guard averaged a team-high 19.8 points per game on 39.6% shooting from deep.
A new name to know is Casper College transfer guard Darius Robinson Jr., a 6-1 junior who averaged 18.4 points last season on 41.9% shooting from deep. He’ll form a high-scoring backcourt duo with McBride.
Still, Oral Roberts ranked fifth in the nation in team points per game during both of Mills’ last two seasons as head coach. The Golden Eagles still have some work to do before they can get back to that level.
Prediction: 13-16 (8-8 Summit League)
Tulsa
- Head coach: Eric Konkol
- 2023-24 record: 16-15 (7-11 AAC)
Tulsa turned things around last season. After going 5-25 in 2022-23, it posted a 16-15 record.
The Golden Hurricane is tasked with replacing star guard PJ Haggerty, who averaged of 21.2 points as a redshirt freshman before he transferred to Memphis. But it’ll benefit greatly from the return of senior guard Keaston Willis, a veteran scorer who only played in two games last season due to a foot injury.
Tulsa also added Georgia State transfer guard Dwon Odom, who averaged 11.8 points and five rebounds last season. Senior forward Jared Garcia is back in the mix as well to provide a presence down low.
It’s unlikely that Tulsa will take another massive leap this season, but it should continue to trend in the right direction.
Prediction: 18-13 (9-9 AAC)
