A loss is a loss, no matter how you want to frame it. That was Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser’s message last week after the Sooners dropped a pair of road conference games to fall to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12.
It’s not any easier or harder trying to bounce back from a dud at Texas last Tuesday as it is losing a one-point overtime decision at TCU four days later.
But if the Big 12 grind can sometimes wear on you, it’s the opportunity the Sooners need right now. Hey, can’t dwell on what didn’t happen in Fort Worth, nope. Not when you have No. 7 Kansas coming to Lloyd Noble Center on Tuesday evening, followed by No. 5 Baylor on Saturday.
If you feel like OU let one get away vs. the Frogs, well, no time like against the Jayhawks to get out of this mini-slump.
“That’s the positive of playing so quick. You get that taste out of your mouth. But there’s no easy challenges,” said Moser on Monday afternoon. “Every night you’re going to have an opportunity to get a resume-builder. Every night you’re going to get a chance to get a quad one win almost. Literally every road game is going to be a quad one win. Most of the home games are quad one wins.
“So every single night… I use that analogy with our guys. I said this is going to be a 12-round heavyweight fight. You’re gonna get knocked down. You’re gonna lose a round. You’ve gotta bounce back up, come back up, answer the bell, man. You’ve gotta be ready. You’ve gotta be able to take a punch and then you’ve gotta be able to handle adversity and bounce back.”
For the most part, OU has been able to do that. The loss at TCU marked the first time the Sooners have lost back-to-back games all season.
Desperation might be too strong of a word for the Sooners this week, but if you can’t flush last week away, could be staring 2-5 in conference play very quickly.
“We just have to learn from it,” Tanner Groves said. “I think we learned a lot from Texas and I think we learned a lot from TCU. Especially after the two losses in a row, that's going to urge us to want to get better.
“I think we had a great practice today, and I think we're ready to go. The two losses kind of urged us to regroup and understand what we need to do to beat Kansas. That's kind of what we've been doing the last few days, and it's been helping us.”
No Chargois
For OU to pull off the upset and earn its fourth top-15 victory of the season, Moser’s group will have to do it without Ethan Chargois.
The backup senior center missed Saturday’s game, and Moser confirmed Monday afternoon Chargois will not be available vs. the Jayhawks.
Tanner Groves can’t play all 40 minutes, and he’s been saddled with foul trouble occasionally this season. OU will have to find a way to get more from Rick Issanza or AK Mawein and give Groves the breather.
“AK had a good two days of workouts for us,” Moser said. “We’ve got to get some depth inside there. He’s got to give us some minutes. We kind of rotated Rick in there and AK in there. We need them to be better.”
Loud Noble Center?
That’s the goal. And really, should be the expectation. OU has played its last four home games (4-0) with the students out for winter break. Classes begin Tuesday, and the atmosphere should be a whole lot different.
“I’m on a mission to fill this arena every night,” Moser said. “I was surprised to hear that the student body wasn’t there at all the games. But now they are. They’re coming. They’ve been coming. It’s been more of a mission for me.
“The people that come into this building are loud. It hasn’t surprised me. It’s just I’ve always been someone who wants to connect with the student body. I’m going to be out there tomorrow with them. That’s been more of a mission than a surprise. It means a lot to me to fill this arena night in, night out. I think it’s great for everything, the excitement, the atmosphere, the energy, everything.”
OU football rightfully says the target is always on them. Never matters what happened in previous games, there is a different energy when you play KU in basketball.
OU needs this one, and Moser needs LNC to be a difference maker.
