After missing out on the NCAA Tournament last spring, Oklahoma jumps into the 2024-25 basketball season Monday night when it hosts Lindenwood in Norman, Okla.
Sooners coach Porter Moser has yet to take his team to the NCAA tournament in his three years at the helm, but last year was the hardest blow yet. Oklahoma started the season 10-0, ranked seventh in the nation in mid-December, but struggled in the Big 12, finishing ninth in the conference and being announced as the last team out of 68 teams.
They quickly became 20-12 (8-10). Oklahoma declined the NIT bid, with Moser saying he was thinking about the health and well-being of his players.
Oklahoma will look different when it takes the floor on Monday, not just because of the new SEC symbols on the floor; this is the Sooners first season in the SEC. Javian McCollum, who averaged 13.3 points last season, transferred to Georgia Tech. Glenn Taylor Jr. came in from St. John’s went to Oklahoma after starting 21 games for the Red Storm.
Honorable mention All-Big 12 selection Jalon Moore is the leading scorer with 11.2. He started 31 games last season.
Brycen Goodine is a six-year-old who played at Syracuse, Providence and Fairfield recently. He shot 46.7 percent from three-point range last year for the Stags.
Moser also praised redshirt freshman Jacolb Cole, who plays on the wing. Cole was Missouri’s seventh-ranked player in 2023.
“He caught it [being a redshirt]. We played his skill development game; remember, he tore his ACL in high school, he’s a 6-8 lefty,” Moser said. “He gives us a big physical wing. I really like his toughness.”
Lindenwood begins its third season as a Division I basketball program. A member of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Lions finished 9-22 (3-15) last year.
Coach Kyle Gerdeman is in his sixth season with the Lions, and he is optimistic about the program he is building.
“I think, like a lot of other teams in the conference, you know the new team very well,” he said. “We have some returning guys but they bring in, you know, a lot of new guys, Division I transfers, a couple of high school kids, three freshmen, a couple of college kids.
“I think there’s a lot of unknowns but I think there’s a lot of excitement because I feel … we’ve been able to build the foundation of our program.”
–Field Level Media
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