Sooners embracing McCasland Field House moment
Sooners basketball fans have said it before. What would it be like to play some games at McCasland Field House? Well, head coach Porter Moser was right there with you. And he’s going to give the OU students (mostly) a chance to catch a game Thursday night.
How to watch
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-4) at No. 25 OU (6-0)
When: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
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It really worked out for Moser. Definitely a little different to try to make it a student-heavy environment. But when you’re 6-0 and coming off your biggest win of the season? Hey, the gamble paid off.
It should make for an electric evening Thursday.
“I’m excited about this game and the atmosphere there,” Moser said. “I’m a historian. I love history, paving the way for the future. I came here for a volleyball game my first year here. And to see Alvan Adams, Gar Heard, legends who played here. I just started visualizing like, what would it look like with this vertical arena?
“I’ve been everywhere trying to get the students to have such an impact, so I just thought it’d be cool for the students to see how loud it can get right on top of the floor. I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere. And then hopefully they’ll be excited, and we can visualize what Lloyd Noble would look like packed. That was part of it.”
Ranking not the final destination
From the moment Otega Oweh tipped in the game-winner vs. USC last Friday, a lot of OU fans jumped toward what will the ranking be?
The Sooners made the cut, coming in at No. 25 this week. As crazy as it sounds, it’s the first time under Moser that OU has been in the top 25.
It’s a solid early-season accomplishment. But you sure hope it’s not the highlight of the season. There’s a lot more still to do.
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“I told our guys being ranked is not the destination,” Moser said. “It’s just part of the process if you’re moving where you want to go. It’s part of where you want to go. We want fans to get excited. It’s just part of where we want to go. But it’s not the destination.
“Those guys have to keep that in perspective. There’s reasons why we’re doing things good. I think we’re really doing things defensively. We’re offensive rebounding. We’ve been pretty efficient offensively. So we’ve gotta keep doing those things.”
Scouting Pine Bluff
Arkansas-Pine Bluff took the Sooners down to the wire last season at Lloyd Noble Center. They’ve already played eight games and love to shoot, shoot and shoot some more.
With the change in the depth perception at McCasland, it will be intriguing to see how the teams respond to the new environment.
“This is one of the fastest-paced teams in the country. But they’re an elite shooting team,” Moser said. “They have somewhere around 88 made threes already. We’re in the 40s to give you some perspective of how many threes that is this early. Averaging more than 11 made threes already.
“We really have to defend the 3-point line. I’ve watched them and how quickly they can play and shoot. And then they rebound it and kick it out and shoot more threes. Defending the 3-point line is going to be an absolute must against Pine Bluff.”
