SoonerHoop Report: Is 20 the magic number for OU?
If you’ve watched the SoonerHoop Report in recent weeks, we’ve been pretty consistent when it comes to OU basketball.
Get to 20 wins, and your NCAA Tournament ticket has been punched. Doesn’t matter how you get to 20 wins, just get there. Somehow, someway.
And OU has done that. Mission accomplished. Battling injuries and figuring out a way to win. Its last two victories have both been in overtime by a combined five points. That doesn’t matter this time of year.
And on senior night, it was a trio of them that wouldn’t let OU fall at home to Cincinnati. Rivaldo Soares, Le’Tre Darthard and, yes, Maks Klanjscek were determined for the Sooners in the 74-71 overtime victory.
“To be honest, I didn’t think at all,” Maks said. “I just know these guys trust me, the coaches trust me. You know, this guy right here [pats Rivaldo on the lap], he just keeps telling me, ‘stay ready, stay ready.’ It’s hard, like you said, for sure, but like Tre just said, you got to be ready for your opportunity when it comes. You got to show up. That’s your job.”
It’s the first 20-win regular season since Buddy Hield and the Final Four run. The eight conference wins are the most under head coach Porter Moser.
There is no politicking this time around. No trying to convince people of OU’s inclusion in the dance. The Sooners are in. Everything else? It’s just about seeding. For the Big 12 and for the NCAA. It’s a nice feeling.
“They were just talking about it, were excited about it,” Moser said. “They know how important each game was. Know where we were at. We had to get another big win against a really good team. That’s probably a Quad 2 win.
“So yea, we know, we feel. We’re going to Texas now. These guys are fired up. They were talking about that more than they were talking about the other game. I think they know. They know we’re just trying to stack some wins now. But I think they we’re in good shape.”
It’s the SoonerHoop Report from SoonerScoop.
