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Porter Moser makes clear statement on how Oklahoma can handle size of SEC teams

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•01/07/25•

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Oklahoma‘s debut in conference play wasn’t exactly a dream come true. On Saturday, the Sooners fell 107-79 to Alabama on the road. There was an obvious difference in physicality between the two teams.

Alabama hauled in 51 rebounds in the showdown compared to Oklahoma’s mere 26. After the loss on Saturday, Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser revealed how his team must handle the size and physicality of SEC teams moving forward.

“I worked with [former St. Louis head coach Rick] Majerus. I can just see our first practice with Majerus right now, talking about getting in the legs on a block out,” Moser said. “You’re not gonna play jump ball in the paint. I can’t sit there and beg for over the backs. We got to physically check off and go get it, release and go get it. And it’s got to be a group effort.

“We can’t have guys play 18 minutes and get one rebound, 13 minutes get zero rebounds. The guards got to rebound down. It’s got to be collective. It’s going to be every night.”

Moser’s final comments were a direct call out of Glenn Taylor Jr. and Luke Northweather. The pair played a combined 31 minutes and only tallied two total rebounds.

Of course, they weren’t the only Sooners who failed to hit the boards. Oklahoma only had three players who reeled in more than two rebounds in the loss. Oklahoma particularly struggled to prevent the Crimson Tide from snagging offensive boards.

Alabama finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds compared to Oklahoma’s eight. The massive discrepancy translated to the teams’ second-chance points as well, with Alabama scoring 25 points off second-chance efforts while Oklahoma scored just four.

With no players taller than 6-foot-10 on their team, the Sooners don’t boast the same size as many of the other teams in the SEC. Thus, the team must be physical in the paint and block out if they hope to find success during conference play.

After all, things aren’t about to get any easier. On Wednesday, Oklahoma will square off against No. 10 Texas A&M at 9 p.m. ET. The Aggies average 16.6 offensive rebounds per game, the most in the SEC.

For reference, Oklahoma only averages 9.4 offensive boards per game, the third-least in the conference. The game on Wednesday will air live on the SEC Network.