The phrase “must-win game” has been thrown around so often with Porter Moser’s Sooners that it almost feels like beating a dead horse.

But Saturday’s matchup against No. 24 Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3) is exactly that—a must-win game.

Oklahoma (15-5, 2-5) desperately needs to protect home court. If they don’t, their postseason chances take a major hit. Last time out, the Sooners had an opportunity to steal a road upset over No. 13 Texas A&M but ultimately fell short, 75-68.

The reasons? A brutal 47-19 rebounding disparity, a 35-22 free throw gap, and a scoreless night from Jeremiah Fears. Yet, despite all of that, Oklahoma was within two points in the final four minutes.

Now, they have to bounce back against Mark Byington’s Vanderbilt squad, which is coming off a bye week and a statement win over No. 12 Kentucky. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Here’s a look at what the Commodores bring to the table and what Oklahoma must do to get back in the win column.

Vanderbilt’s most recent game came last Saturday when they knocked off No. 12 Kentucky, 74-69. The Commodores built a commanding 41-27 halftime lead before the Wildcats stormed back, but a clutch three-pointer with 1:50 left sealed the upset.

“So impressed with Vanderbilt on tape,” Moser said. “Since Alabama, they play the fastest of any of the teams that we’ve played. They play really fast.”

Their leading scorer, Jason Edwards, was the catalyst once again, posting 18 points and four assists on 6-11 shooting, including 2-4 from deep. On the season, Edwards averages 17.3 points per game while shooting 45.7% from the field and 39.2% from beyond the arc.

Beyond Edwards, Vanderbilt has a balanced scoring attack with three players averaging double figures. Forward Devin McGlockton leads the way with 10.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Then there’s AJ Hoggard, a dynamic playmaker averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 assists—he’s proven he can catch fire, having topped 15 points in two SEC games already.

Tyler Nickel rounds out the starting backcourt alongside Edwards and Hoggard. He was the one who drilled the go-ahead three-pointer to lift Vanderbilt past Kentucky.

“You can't lose Nickel. I think Nickel's on a really good heater. He's had 12 3s the last three games, shooting over 50%.”

Off the bench, the Commodores feature Tyler Tanner, who embodies their team identity—he leads the nation in turnover rate and ranks second in steal percentage.

Turnovers and three-point shooting are what make Vanderbilt dangerous. Just look at what they did against Kentucky: they forced 17 turnovers while committing just five themselves.

Here’s a breakdown of just how effective they are at both forcing and limiting turnovers—and where they rank nationally in those categories.

The two things Vanderbilt does best: winning the three-point and turnover battles. The good news for Oklahoma? They’ve been elite at shutting down the three-pointer, ranking 5th in the country in opponent three-point percentage (28.1%).

That puts even more emphasis on the turnover battle—an area where the Sooners have struggled. Oklahoma ranks 275th nationally in opponent steal percentage (10.7%), and turnovers have been a recurring issue in conference play.

Limiting giveaways will be critical, and that starts with Jeremiah Fears. He opened SEC play with three games of four or more turnovers, including a six-turnover outing. But over his last three games, he’s kept it to just two per contest. Scoring struggles aside, Oklahoma needs him to continue that trend.

Maybe it’s something about playing Texas A&M, or maybe Brycen Goodine is simply getting more comfortable. In his last game, Goodine scored 24 points on 5-9 shooting from behind the arc. The game before, he put up 9 points on 3-6 shooting from deep. Even when he doesn’t score a ton, he still makes a significant impact.

Since conference play began, Goodine ranks 1st in the SEC in effective field goal percentage (69.6%) and 2nd in true shooting percentage (72.0%). Over the past three games, he’s been on fire from deep, shooting 10-18 (55.5%) from three.

"Just keep building off of it. Staying confident. I think the spacing, and guys did a good job finding him. He's gotta continue that because he really helps us when he's obviously a huge threat that way.”

Even when Goodine doesn’t score 24 points like he did against Texas A&M, his shooting threat alters the flow of the game. Against a Vanderbilt team that thrives from behind the arc, Goodine’s shooting will be crucial to countering their long-range success.

It’s hard to expect Oklahoma to go on the road and beat No. 13 Texas A&M when they get a scoreless night from Fears. The Sooners can’t afford that; they need him to bounce back.

“Tough game for him,” said Moser when asked about Fears’ scoreless performance against Texas A&M. “Very confident he’ll bounce back against Vanderbilt and have a great game.”

It’s not like he’s been in a prolonged slump—just look at his last two games before Tuesday night: 16 points and three assists against Arkansas, 16 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists against South Carolina. In both of those games, he had just two turnovers.

Oklahoma not only needs Fears to keep up his strong floor game, but they also need him to provide more scoring. The Sooners should make a concerted effort to get Fears going from the start. If they can get a bounce-back performance from him, it will make a significant difference.

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