Porter Moser on the state of Oklahoma Basketball: 'We've gotta get some confidence'

There’s a lot more that Porter Moser wants to see from his Oklahoma team now that it has fallen to 3-8 at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference.

Moser spoke on what Oklahoma (16-8, 3-8) needs following the 82-58 loss for the Sooners to No. 21 Missouri on Wednesday. That was the Sooners’ second-worst loss and third straight blowout taken in conference play.

“That, that’s a really wide question,” Moser admitted. “There’s a lot. There’s a lot that I want to see more of from ’em.”

For one, cleaner play wouldn’t hurt, as Mizzou outscored OU by 22 over the final 34 minutes of the game. With that, the Tigers outperformed them in every category in shooting splits, on the glass, specifically defensively, in the paint, turnovers, and fast break points to build a lead that was as much as 29.

“I mean, better winning basketball,” said Moser. “We self-destructed. I mean, literally – the two mistakes against the press, the two ill-advised fouls that when they’re in double bonus already, you know, two lane violations.”

The bigger picture, though, is Oklahoma doesn’t recall who it was a month and a half ago. The Sooners were a team at 13-0 following the non-conference. That undefeated mark included wins over several of the better teams in other conferences across the country, too. Now, having lost 8-of-11 and four of the last five in league play, plus each of the last three by an average margin of 23.3, Moser is just looking for some belief in who they’ve been before.

“We’ve got to get some confidence, you know,” Moser said. “Just, you know – just, here’s perspective about where we are and how good this league is. We went 13-0 in non-conference. We beat Arizona. They’re one or two in the Big 12. Michigan is one in the Big Ten. Louisville is two in the ACC. We’ve beaten all the top teams in the power. You get in this league and it’s just, it’s a monster. So, we’re a good team. We’re hitting a skid.”

That skid is enough to have Oklahoma right on the bubble now, but trending out of the field. That’s why this weekend’s game against LSU has become a necessity for their play as much as their resumé, especially with five consecutive ranked games to follow in their final six.

“We need a win to get our, to get our confidence back to get our mojo back, to get something on the board with it,” Moser said.