Porter Moser raves about Oklahoma's defensive effort in win over Iowa
Last year, Iowa ranked No. 4 in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. The Hawkeyes started off the year hot once again, scoring 80 or more points in each of their first four games entering Thursday’s game against Oklahoma in the Rady Children’s Invitational.
But the Sooners managed to clamp down, holding Iowa to just 4-for-23 shooting from three-point territory and 67 points as part of a 79-69 victory. It was quite the showing for Porter Moser’s group, which improved to 5-0 with another 12-point victory.
Afterward, he said the ability to hold strong in transition was the difference — along with the perimeter defense for much of the game. Moser pointed out the last few minutes didn’t go as planned, though.
“The first 37 minutes, I thought the guys, they played hard,” Moser told FS1’s Casey Jacobsen. “Iowa’s really hard to guard. I’ve got so much respect for their motion and their skill level and how well they’re coached. But I thought we got back in transition D, which was a key for us.
“And then, I didn’t think we broke on their motion. We did a couple times, obviously. But I thought for the most part, we guarded the three-point line until the last three minutes, and I thought we really played hard possession by possession.”
Oklahoma still doesn’t know who it’ll face on Friday — it’ll be either USC or Seton Hall — but both teams present challenges for the Sooners’ defense. Coming off such a strong performance against Iowa, though, means Oklahoma knows what it has to do to contain talented offenses.
One of Moser’s biggest mantras is turning defense into offense, and that’ll have to be the case on Friday regardless of the opponent.
“You’ve got to defend so you can run and get out,” Moser said. “You’ve got to defend and create offense with defense. I know we’ve got two high-powered offensive teams right here, so we’re going to have to really defend and do that. And we’ve got to come back and just not be satisfied. Come back hungry again and have that kind of defensive effort for 40 minutes.”
Porter Moser: Jalon Moore ‘impacted both ends’ of the floor against Iowa
On offense, Jalon Moore led the attack with 18 points and five rebounds in his biggest showing of the year. Moser said it’s been an interesting year for Moore, who suffered an injury earlier in the season before returning.
Now, he’s making his presence known, and Moser said he helped lead the charge on the offensive side of the floor.
“It’s funny because Jalon got hurt in the second game and he came back, and he himself said, ‘I’ve got to be better. I got one offensive rebound.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve got to get my athleticism into the game,'” Moser said. “He’s such a high-quality kid. I thought he got his athleticism into the game and impacted on both ends. I thought he was an energy guy the whole way on both ends.”
Oklahoma is now off to its best start under Moser in his third year at the helm heading into Friday’s matchup. USC and Seton Hall will tip off Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET for a chance to play the Sooners.