Target on OU continues to grow after win vs. Arkansas

TULSA, Okla. – OU head coach Porter Moser has been quick to say it. If the Sooners are going to be the team they want to be, the expectations are going to change.

You’re going to go from the hunter to the hunted. That target is going to be on the back. Never was that more apparent than in a 79-70 victory against Arkansas at the BOK Center on Saturday afternoon in the Crimson & Cardinal Classic.

Last month? The Hogs would have been heavy favorites. But it was the Sooners who walked into Tulsa as the favorite and played like it too.

“That’s what we want,” point guard Javian McCollum said. “We want to be the best. We want to beat the best. That’s what you want to ask for. That’s what it takes to win a national championship. You want that target on your back. You want to go out there with knowing that those teams respect you at a high level, because we’re going out there competing at a high level every night.”

Tight throughout most of the first half, OU took control with a 14-2 run to close out the final four minutes and a 37-25 lead.

You knew Arkansas would punch back. It did. But the Sooners had the answers time and time again. Especially McCollum, who had another strong outing with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.

“They cut it to, I think, six,” said. “I was debating about whether to call timeout or not. I trusted them to get some stops. Then we got it back up to 10 or 12 again. Those guys have been doing that, bouncing back.

“I have to credit our guys for settling down and getting some stops. We knew Arkansas was going to keep fighting. And they did. They play so hard. We knew that, at halftime, had a lot of basketball left.”

From there? It was all about emotions, good and bad. The game featured six technical fouls. And for the second time in this series, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman was ejected.

OU took control, leading by as many as 19 points in the second half to improve to 9-0. Another early statement-making week, beating Providence and Arkansas.

Game 9 Takeaways

*Take a breath. It was chippy, to put it lightly. Rivaldo Soares, Otega Oweh and Jalon Moore all had technical fouls for the Sooners.

Moser can appreciate the emotion. But you have to keep them in check.

“It was an emotional game. I think the atmosphere is awesome here in Tulsa,” Moser said. “I think both schools had tremendous enthusiasm. Don’t know what the key was because we played emotionally, too. You can play with emotion, but you can’t play emotionally.

“I think we had a lot of guys step up, think Javian continues to step up. I think Rivaldo Soares had a really nice game for us. Otega hit a big shot. Los had a big drive. Sam made key free throws in a stretch.”

Soares had 13 points and seven rebounds. Oweh added 14 points. Milos Uzan had 11 points and three steals.

*Will this continue in Tulsa? It has absolutely been a fun environment at the BOK the last three seasons. OU holds the 2-1 advantage.

The Sooners going to the SEC next season, who knows where we go from here?

“For three years in a row, it feels like an NCAA regional,” Moser said. “Driving the bus here, you see everybody out in front. You see the bands, you see both teams, all the colors. You walk into the beautiful arena and you see all this. So I thought it had an NCAA regional feel the last few years, and I thought Tulsa’s done a great job with the event.”

*Up next? A week of waiting to see where OU will sit. The Sooners (9-0) will host Green Bay 8 p.m. next Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center. How high will OU be ranked come Monday?