Porter Moser gives initial impressions of Kansas State
Porter Moser addressed what he thinks of Oklahoma’s opponent on Tuesday, the Kansas State Wildcats, prior to their highly-anticipated clash.
It should be a wonderful Big 12 showdown, as the Sooners look to end their losing skid against one of last season’s March Madness darlings. Both squads have been among the best in the conference throughout the 2023-2024 season, and Moser took some time to explain what makes the Wildcats great.
“Really good,” Moser said, asked to describe what he’s seen from Kansas State. “I mean, they’ve done a phenomenal job of guys coming back, and then the new guys in the portal. [Arthur] Kaluma came from Creighton, obviously my alma mater. Watched him in the NCAA Tournament, terrific. Tylor Perry. Really, really scores it. I mean, he can do a lot. I think Cam Carter is the most improved player in the Big 12. I mean, he’s terrific. I think [David] N’Guessan and [Will] McNair, they’re physical, long, athletic and they can score in bunches in transition. We’ve really got to get back.
“Their 1-2-3, Perry, Carter and Kaluma, they’re shooting the leather off it. Look at their three-point shooting percentages when you break them down, I mean they’re really shooting the ball from three.”
Obviously, Moser is up to date on his scouting of the Wildcats. Will it pay off in victory for Oklahoma? Now that’ll come down to the players on the court, and Moser’s ability to adjust throughout the game.
Nevertheless, Porter Moser will have the Sooners ready when they take the court against Kansas State. Time will tell if it’s enough, or if Oklahoma suffers another disappointing loss on Tuesday night.
Porter Moser identifies biggest issue with Oklahoma this season
Moreover, Oklahoma dropped their second straight, both of which came at home, and the fourth of the last six on Saturday. Of all the reasons that led them to falter again, Porter Moser said it comes from a lack of both discipline and leadership from his team, including on the defensive end.
Moser assessed the 85-84 loss for the No. 11 Sooners to No. 20 Texas Tech during his postgame press conference. He started with his issues with their defense as he felt like they didn’t have the effort or attention to detail that was necessary for them to succeed.
“It’s our issue with this team,” said Moser. “We’ve got a certain some of us that take the foot off the gas defensively.”
“I tip my hat off to Chance McMillan. I thought he had a career night. He was hitting flying shots into the corner. He got one off a re-screen on an end out,” Moser said. “You’ve just got to be down and ready. You know what we’re going to do. They hit on a low action in the far corner against their bench – stuff that we’ve gone over.”
In a game with swings in both directions, Oklahoma had to feel good after taking their largest lead of nine with 7:30 to go. However, from that moment on, Texas Tech closed on a 26-16 run to take it by one.
Games, especially in the Big 12, can come down to the thinnest of margins between wins and losses. With that in mind, Moser hopes they’ll all clean it up in order to overcome this skid that has put Oklahoma below .500 in conference play.
On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.