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Oklahoma

OU basketball season comes to an end vs. UConn, 67-59

Bob Przybyloby: Bob Przybylo03/22/25BPrzybylo
Jeremiah Fears34
OU guard Jeremiah Fears. (Bob Donnan - Imagn Images)

RALEIGH, N.C. — This is the way OU basketball has played all season. Why in the world would it be any different in the NCAA Tournament?

Gritty, frustrating, inspiring, it’s everything. It embodies head coach Porter Moser, and it’s a ride for all Sooner fans.

But it’s a ride that has reached its conclusion. UConn figured it out and did what was necessary down the stretch in a 67-59 victory.

Tied at 54, the Huskies finished in style. And OU simply didn’t have the answer. All the fighting through hard but couldn’t make that shot to really get the momentum going.

OU just willed itself to the free throw line time and time again (a stellar 22-for-27). It had to, as the Sooners could not buy a bucket from the outside. A team, a portal effort that was about bringing shooters in. And picked the worst night to go cold.

Jalon Moore had a rough first half, only scoring two points. You knew that eventually Jalon Moore would wake up, and he did. But OU got that third contributor in the way of Mo Wague.

He went on a 7-0 run of his own that gave OU its first lead at 47-46.

But UConn is the defending two-time national champions for a reason. When it was getting rough, they knew how to weather the storm and battle back.

Moore scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and added seven rebounds. Wague had nine points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman Jeremiah Fears was sensational, trying to single-handedly carry the team at times. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.

OU was a putrid 3-for-17 shooting from the 3-point line and only shot 32.1 percent from the field. OU only made one of its final nine field goal attempts. It wasn’t the defense that let down the Sooners.

The Sooners finish at 20-14, with back-to-back 20-win seasons under Moser. And, of course, their initial NCAA berth under Moser. But it’s just a one-game stay.

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