Sooners ready for next test with Arkansas (in Tulsa)

There was just something about the Sooners performance Tuesday night against Providence. Even though OU was 7-0 coming in and had beaten a couple of good teams Thanksgiving week, the notoriety was more than ever after the win against the Friars.

A quality victory, for sure, but it’s back to the grind. This week gives you a real feel of what the Big 12 conference will be about in the next couple of months. You earn one hard-fought win just to get another top-tier opponent.

How to watch

No. 19 OU (8-0) vs. Arkansas (6-3)
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN2.
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This time around? It’s Arkansas, and it’s back to the BOK Center in Tulsa for Round 3 between the teams. OU won in 2021, and Arkansas returned the favor last season.

“What you think of is extreme length and athleticism playing really hard,” said OU head coach Porter Moser. “That’s what they do. They play really hard. They get their athleticism into the game. They’re long, athletic. They’ve got multiple scorers. But you’ve got to match their effort with their athleticism. 

“It’s another great game. We’ve played high-level games and it’s another high-level game in a great atmosphere. I think Tulsa does a great job with the event and with the series. But we’ve got a lot of respect for Arkansas.”

The Razorbacks have had some highs and lows this season. The Hogs were ranked No. 14 to start the season. But a two-loss Battle 4 Atlantis knocked them out of the rankings only to respond by upsetting then-No. 7 Duke last week.

Arkansas at its best? Will be one heck of a matchup for the Sooners.

McCollum not slowing down

There’s always that worry. You know someone like Javian McCollum has impressive speed at a place like Siena. How will it translate?

So far, so good, no complaints. McCollum has been as good as advertised. More importantly, you can see McCollum and Milos Uzan starting to figure out how they need to play together.

“We thought he’d bring speed and scoring,” Moser said. “I’ve been saying that all summer. I said many times, (he’s gonna remind people) of a guy like Hollis Price who can really score, who played with energy. He’s fun to watch because he plays hard. We wanted to add speed and shooting and scoring. This is what we envisioned.”

McCollum was sensational for the Sooners vs. Providence with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Who steps up next?

It truly has been that way. Just the way Moser envisioned it through eight games. It doesn’t have to be the same guy or guys every single night. But you get two or three playing at a high level and everybody else pitching in? Boom, you have the recipe.

“That’s the joy of our team right now. Some nights like John Hugley was really good at USC,” Moser said. “I thought Sam was really good the other night. There’s no jealousy. This is the culture you try to build. Different guys on different nights. Be happy for them, get the win and move onto the next one.”

Handling winning

Again, the praise was high after Tuesday. The Sooners are ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and have moved up to No. 14 in the NET Rankings. The NET is updated daily.

Not a lot of people saw this type of attention coming last month. The key is to handle it and to know, well, this is what is supposed to happen. If you’re good, playing well, these things are going to occur.

“Tell them it’s part of the process,” Moser said. “I mean, where we want to go? It’s part of it. You’re not going to get where you want to go without some accolades and hype. Just can’t get too high and get too low.

“Same thing. When you lose, you can’t get too down. Basketball’s a long season. There’s many opportunities, many games. You got to keep grinding, get better. We talk about it in stride, like, this is what we wanted.”