OU basketball focused, not looking at rankings

It has been a great week for OU basketball, and the Sooners haven’t even played a game. Finals week in Norman so the schedule has been a little bit different.

But OU enters this weekend No. 11 in the country and one of only six undefeated teams left.

How to watch

Green Bay (5-6) at No. 11 OU (9-0)
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN+
Fubo Streaming: Fubo (Try for free) Fubo’s holiday offer just kicked off – For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite, and Premier plans ($20 off the first and second months)

However, the Sooners have a huge one coming up against North Carolina in Charlotte in the Jordan Brand Classic on Wednesday.

The key to never looking ahead? Preparation, said head coach Porter Moser.

“I don’t prepare any different for Kansas than I do Texas State,” Moser said. “I mean it’s a thorough preparation. It’s a confident respect. We use that term. A confident respect for every single opponent. Respect their strengths.

“You respect what they do that could beat you. You gotta know, ‘what could they do to beat you?’ And you gotta eliminate those things. We prepare the same way. I think the guys will tell you. My demand on the scouting, my demand on the preparation is literally no different from every opponent. And these guys believe that the game in front of us is our marquee game. That game, the next game is our marquee game.”

There have been games this week like No. 8 Creighton losing to UNLV and No. 25 Northwestern losing at home to Chicago State. Games that are examples of looking ahead or ‘trap game’ feeling.

The younger Moser might have used that before. But now? It’s about positive thinking.

“I’ll tell you, I have before in my coaching career, but I don’t, almost, I don’t want to have a self-fulfilling prophecy, you know?” Moser said. “’Hey, did you see what happened with this team right there?’ It’s like, I don’t wanna — I’m just feeding ’em positives. Like, ‘this is what we’re gonna do to win this game.’ I’ve just kind of… and it’s that confident respect.”

The players still have that edge because they remember the preseason rankings. Nobody cared about the Sooners. This last month has changed nothing for them in that regard.

“I think we see ourselves as the underdogs,” senior Rivaldo Soares said. “We got picked last in the Big 12. We’re still trying to earn our respect, so the rankings – it’s cool, but I’m trying to get the guys to stay on track because that ranking really doesn’t mean anything. We’re just the underdogs, and that’s how we’re playing it. I think that edge is what’s given us an advantage.”

Jesperson, Custer making a difference

One of the under the radar moves after last season was the NCAA allowing for two more assistant coaches. Not just support staff guys, but coaches who can interact with the team.

Moser hired Paul Jesperson and brought Clayton Custer back to OU. It’s hard to argue with the results.

“For us, it’s been such a great rule. Paul and Clayton, they’re youthful,” Moser said. “They’re great at skill development. That skill development spot, the player development, was a facade. You could have a player development coach but he couldn’t work with the players. That is the biggest joke of a title.

“Now, once we were able to change that rule, I went right after a guy — Paul, five years in player development in the NBA. That resonates with guys. That resonates with recruits, and he does an outstanding job working with them. Clay, Brock, Hump, Gates — it gives you more guys that can work with guys. It’s one of the few rules they made that absolutely benefits. It’s a no-brainer to get more guys that can help and coach.”

Ryan Humphrey, Armon Gates and Brock Morris round out the assistant group.

Scouting Green Bay

“This is what Green Bay can do to beat you. They have a tremendous plug defense. If you go too far with your dribble, you’re gonna get turnovers. They do a lot of really good ‘ghost screening.’ I mean, they try to confuse you. You’re gonna see more of what we call ‘ghost screens,’ where they come into the screen, they slip ’em. We’re gonna see more of those than we see in any one game all year. Your communication’s gotta be great. So they can hurt you if you’re not communicating.” – Moser