OU basketball with a golden opportunity vs. Vols, but will Jeremiah Fears be available?

Game No. 4 of this ridiculous five-game stretch for OU basketball. It just keeps coming. But it is back in Norman, back at the Lloyd Noble Center.

And it’s a massive chance for a statement-like victory. No. 4 Tennessee is coming to town at 11 a.m. Saturday.

OU is 1-2 during this stretch. Physically? You can bounce back, no problem. It’s the mental grind. The mental day-to-day that is oh-so crucial.

“The physical fatigue, everybody’s going through it,” head coach Porter Moser said. “It’s about how you’re gonna handle the mental fatigue. The mental stress. It’s an elite game every game. Coming back, getting yourself up. You get down after a loss, and you’ve gotta pick yourself back up. You’re very high after a win, you’ve gotta get grounded. It’s the mental fatigue, to me, that’s way more than the physical fatigue. 

“The physical fatigue, we’ve all managed in our careers. Days off, lighter practices, less reps, we’ve all managed the physical fatigue. This is daunting, and I think every coach in this league will tell you that. It’s the mental fatigue of one game after the other, the best of the best.”

Scouting the Vols

It doesn’t get any easier. Tennessee is coming off back-to-back ranked wins at home against Florida and Missouri.

The Vols were ranked No. 1 for good chunk of the season back in December. And they haven’t really slipped off or anything. It’s just that’s how good Auburn has been.

OU will need to handle the moment against Tennessee.

“They wear you down defensively by how much pressure they put on you defensively and how physical,” Moser said. “So they wear you down. Then they wear you down offensively. They’re one of the best teams at wearing you down on both ends, because you are going to have to go through 10 screens a possession. They’re going to screen you, screen you, motion, not move. They got shooters that can catch and shoot.

“So they wear you down on both ends. And then when they get hot, when Ziegler — Ziegler was hot. Milicic you gotta keep off the glass. They got different ways to get you. Okpara’s one of the best lob guys. Chaz Lanier is one of the best shooters. Ziegler’s one of the best, quickest guys getting into the paint and spraying it. They have a lot of different guys that can get you, but they wear you out on both ends.”

Fears’ availability?

OU hasn’t been full strength all season. But the Sooners also haven’t been missing a key piece in a while that has played. It might happen at just the wrong time.

Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears took a shot to the thigh in the second of the loss at Auburn. He returned to the game, but it sounds like it could be dicey for Fears on Saturday.

“You know, I’m going to defer to the availability report at 7 today,” Moser said.

If Fears cannot go or is limited, time for senior guard Kobe Elvis to reassert himself. He has been trying to figure out coming off the bench in recent games. But Saturday could open the door for Elvis to get his usual minutes.

OU needs his experience.

“He’s had great moments off the bench for us,” Moser told SoonerScoop. “I’m transparent with Kobe. It’s not easy, I’m not trying to mind-bend him and say, ‘Oh, this is going to be great.’ I’m just trying to say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going to be best for the team.’

“We need you in a mature manner, this is what we need you do to do. It’s not easy to do, but he’s been giving us some good things. We’re really going to need him against an older team, guards to come in and continue to be physical defensively. That’s the thing with Kobe, to continue to be physical defensively.

Final word

“It means anything. Even in warmups, it’s 60 minutes before the game and it’s almost sold out. The student section is chirping at our guys. It’s college basketball. The guys notice it. It gets really loud in there. It would be awesome. We have a top-four team coming in who has spent time at No. 1 this year. The students are awesome. We have to come in and create a great atmosphere.” – said Moser about the home LNC crowd for Saturday