Veterans bringing that lift for OU basketball

It gets incredibly repetitive to talk about OU basketball and the Big 12 grind. Doesn’t make it any less true, but it’s nothing new.

The Sooners took advantage of a two-game homestand to get back on track and over .500 in league play for the first time in a while.

Your prize? A trip to Waco at Baylor and then Kansas at home. Tremendous challenges and tremendous opportunities for Porter Moser and company.

How to watch

No. 25 OU (18-6, 6-5) at No. 12 Baylor (17-6, 6-4)
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
TV: ESPN2.

One reason why OU was able to find its way to a two-win week is because how the veterans are playing. Moser went old with the transfer portal this season. It worked and has continued to work.

Instead of true freshmen being throw into the fire, it’s fifth-year guys like Rivaldo Soares and Le’Tre Darthard being calm in the moment and coming through.

Darthard has made at least three 3-pointers in two of the last three games. And minute-for-minute, there might not be a better Sooner in the last month than Soares.

He recognizes his college basketball time is almost up. And he’s going out with a bang.

“Man, I’ve seen just a young man who plays with an urgency, plays with an edge, plays with an enthusiasm,” Moser said. “He’s—it’s been contagious with him because his mind is so right. Coming off the bench, just absolutely defending, running, impacting. He’s been a vocal leader, and the guys can tell that he’s playing with an urgency, that he’s in his final two months of college basketball.

“What I love is he’s not doing it pressing. Sometimes guys get in that moment and they press, like, ‘Oh, this is my final time; I got to do everything.’ He’s not. He’s just got a joy with his urgency, and that’s a great combination. Joy and urgency, because sometimes you can have tightness and an urgency. He’s just got this joy and urgency, and he’s playing loose, and he’s playing great.”

Northweather earning the trust

It’s one thing to get minutes in the second half, but it’s a different thing to make them count. That’s what Luke Northweather did in the Bedlam victory.

Going 10 minutes with five points, three assists and drawing three fouls is going to work. And it’s going to help get him on the court more if the matchups dictate it.

This isn’t the first time Northweather has appeared ready, but it might resonate even more here going down the stretch.

“What I love about Luke is we’ve seen him come in with a tremendous confidence,” Moser said. “Against Kansas he came in. And then we’ve seen him he hasn’t played, which is more normal sometimes, guys come in and they’re trying to find their feet. We really are pouring into the Luke that, ‘right away, know that the team’s got confidence in you. Just shoot it.’

“We even like him on the block. I mean, he drew three fouls last game. We like his passing ability. He had three assists. So just the Luke that has that confidence to come in there, because we’re gonna need him and we’re gonna play him.”

Movement, movement, movement

If you want to point toward one thing about the OU offense, it can get stagnant. A lot of dribbling and then hoping to make something happen late in the shot clock.

Moser said he recognized that in the second half of Bedlam. The key is to not put it all on the shoulders of Javian McCollum and/or Milos Uzan.

“Sometimes, a lot of us, they look to Javian and Los just to get movement,” Moser said. “I’ve really worked on it the last couple of days. I thought yesterday we did. Just getting some more ball movement. It’s hard because you do want the ball in Javian and Los’ hands, so it’s a trick, you know, in there.

“The thing is to continue to transition. I think we’re at our best in transition. Sometimes I think they weren’t, we weren’t pushing it, in a close game. I want to stay aggressive with the guys. That’s been the message: Just keep staying aggressive.”

Scouting the Bears

Game No. 12 in conference, and finally, it’s OU and Baylor. It will be the only time the Bears and Sooners meet up this regular season.

Baylor has been in some of the craziest conference games this season. And it is the first year of Foster Pavilion.

Should be an electric atmosphere in Waco.

“They’ve got a lot of new faces,” Moser said. “So yesterday, it was so much about prepping for Baylor. You work out today, you leave. Just so much respect for Baylor and how they do things. They do so many things well to prepare for them.

“Defensively, they’re always switching up. They’re switching up their ball-screen coverages, they’re switching up their zone, they press. Offensively, so much movement, creativity. And then they keep surrounding themselves with elite guards.”

Final word

“Haven’t talked to anybody. Not even thinking about anything. Absolutely not even engaging into anything like that, 100 percent. So excited about where we are at with the team. This is everything we’ve tried to build for is being in this position. Same comment as last year. All rumor mill fodder. Nothing, nothing true.” – Moser when asked by SoonerScoop about interest in the DePaul job