Tanner Groves shares emotions of senior day win, interaction with Porter Moser

Oklahoma‘s regular season may not have gone the way they imagined, currently tied for the worst conference record in the Big 12 and sitting at the bottom of the standings. But they ended their final home game and senior night with a bang, upsetting No. 22 ranked TCU 74-60 on Saturday. Senior forward Tanner Groves spoke about senior night, and just how special the moment was in Lloyd Noble Center.

“A lot of emotions today, it just feels weird. Like I’ve been doing it for so long, six years, it’s been a long time compared to some other guys, but it just feels so good. It just kind of felt surreal, I just love the teammates I have and I love the coaching staff I play for,” Groves said.

Groves chose a special moment to play the best he has all season, scoring a season-high 23 points in his final home game for the Sooners. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, securing his fifth double-double of the season while also maintaining an extremely emotional night for himself and the rest of Oklahoma’s senior class.

“And so it just was really emotional, especially in warm-ups at the start, and then throughout the game I tried to keep that emotion but channel it the right way and I thought I did a good job of that,” Groves said. “That was a really great way to go out and it’s amazing, happy to be with this team doing that so that’s really cool.”

Groves spent three seasons at Eastern Washington before transferring to Oklahoma to play for then first-year head coach Porter Moser. It’s clear the Groves and Moser have a special bond, as he detailed the moment when Moser subbed him out of the game one last time, embracing Groves in front of an electric ovation from the Sooners’ home crowd.

“It meant a lot, he actually texted me this morning before the game and he was just grateful for me. I was his first recruit to Oklahoma, I was his first pickup. He believed in me and I believed in him when there was not a lot of guys on the roster,” Groves said holding back his emotions. “It’s just pretty cool, just means a lot.

Groves lastly spoke about what it felt like walking off the court in Norman one last time, showing appreciation to the loyal Sooners’ fanbase for their dedication.

“It was just surreal you know, it was just an amazing feeling. I mean I love the fans, especially the ones that suck with us throughout the season wins or losses. There were a select few that just stayed with us the whole time and I’ll forever be grateful for those,” Groves said. “It didn’t matter how packed the arena was or how little people there were in there, I mean the people that were in there I really appreciate them and I’ll forever be grateful for that. It was just a great feeling to go out with a big time Top 25 win like that, pretty cool.”