OU, Tae Davis hoping to build off comeback victory

Sometimes, it can just take one, and that is definitely what OU basketball is hoping for throughout this month.

One comeback victory that can ignite a spark. The Sooners were down 13 points to Marquette and 12 points in the second half to rally for the 75-74 victory in Chicago last Friday.

This crucial four-game stretch now continues with a true road game. After three ‘neutral’ site games, to Winston-Salem we go.

OU (5-2) at Wake Forest (6-2) (SEC/ACC Challenge)
When: 6 p.m.
TV: ACC Network

The second half was sparked by Tae Davis. That was the first time where you truly saw why head coach Porter Moser is so excited about what he brings to the table.

Moser has preached and preached about Davis’ defensive ability. That was on full display during the final possession for Marquette.

The Golden Eagles had a chance for the last-second victory, but Davis was having no part of that.

“I’ve said his best part of his defense is his on-ball defending,” Moser said. “He’s evolving and getting better off the ball, but on the ball that if you look at that last possession, he switched like four times and they couldn’t, he had a strong chest, couldn’t get by and then made him take a tough shot.

“It was a clinic technique-wise. Strong chest, showed the hand, not letting go by you. It was like three or four in a row. They tried to turn the corner on him and he laterally slid his feet. That’s what we saw. What I’ve been talking about all off season, his lateral quickness, not being able to go by you in his stance and to have a resistance doing it. That’s what I saw in that last possession.

Putting the hard hat on defensively

Moser teams are all about defense. But that hadn’t really been the case here initially. Down 50-38 in the second half against Marquette, the light switch went on? Maybe, we’ll find out.

It was definitely a lot better and the first sign of becoming that team that OU fans believe is possible this season.

“The thing we have to hang our hat on is we defended,” Moser told SoonerScoop. “We got the lead back because we defended and held them. Those stretches were our best parts defensively. Then we had some guys make some big plays.

“I thought Jeff Nwankwo hit some big shots, Jadon Jones hit a big shot, Derrion Reid hit a big shot, Nigel (Pack) hit a big shot. We had a lot of guys make big shots in that stretch. If you’re guarding and you’re down, you can’t trade baskets. You have to get some stops to cut away at that lead. That’s something they’ve heard from me the last 48 hours and will continue to hear from me, is you got to guard.”

Scouting Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons are pretty good for a two-loss team. Those defeats? To No. 1-ranked (NET) Michigan in overtime. And a one-point loss against Texas Tech.

Wake Forest is ranked No. 56 in the initial NET rankings.

“I just think they play really hard,” Moser said. Obviously, Steve (Forbes) was one of my assistant coaches and I respect him a ton. His teams are playing really well on both ends. They really are aggressive defensively. Offensively, they don’t stop moving. And the thing about it is how many points they create off turnovers, and then how many points they create off the glass. Those two in-the-trench stats are gonna be key with that. They’ve got a lot of different guys that can shoot it and score it. They did excellent with the guys they developed. Did excellent with the guys they brought in from the portal. 

“So, this is a huge game for both teams. There’s no question, I think they’re an NCAA Tournament team. I’m just watching the Michigan and Texas Tech games, and how they fought back against Memphis. Steve does a great job with them and they’re really tough.”

OU is No. 94, with its two losses to No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 28 Nebraska.