SoonerScoop - OU hoping for late run
There comes a point where you just have to stop trying to figure out this Oklahoma basketball team
oklahoma.rivals.com
OU at No. 11 KSU, 7 p.m., ESPN+.
Porter Moser
Mental toughness?
I know we’re judged on wins and losses. I get that. I’m in that business. I really feel we’re good. We just haven’t gotten over the hump. We go into Texas and those guys battled their tails off. Come in here and didn’t play our best in the second half vs. Tech. Go to Iowa State and battle. We’ve beaten Kansas State. it’s just believing and shrinking mistakes and fighting for that. Disappointed in the actual wins and losses, unequivocally. For these guys to keep fighting every single day, there’s no doubt they’re doing that. There’s no doubt they’re believing in it. It’s just like you teach them it’s not over until the 40-minute horn goes off. That’s the same with us right now. It’s not over. I don’t care what anyone says. Get on a roll, get on a run. Last time I checked the winner of the Big 12 tournaments gets an automatic berth. We have two regular season games left. These guys really believe in that. They went in and played so hard in Ames. We have to do the exact same thing coming in against No. 11 Kansas State where they’ve lost one game in a sold-out arena. They have to do it again in terms of playing their hearts out. That’s what we’re counting on.
Jacob Groves?
"Getting Jake going, another guy — we missed so many shots against Texas Tech. Jake has been a guy that’s proven he’s knocked down shots. I just kind of told him, ‘Jacob, if you’re going to guard with intensity, just know in your head it’s going to be between 20-25 minutes.’ Just so he didn’t have any doubt. Like, am I coming out if I miss a couple shots. With him, I said, ‘If you’re really guarding, count on 20-25 minutes.’
“To get those shots to knock down — against Texas Tech, we just missed so many. For us to shoot the ball the way we did, the way we moved the ball, he cut the backend of some of those. It was really important to get another guy to make shots. So it was great to see him do that. Big, big contributor in the win. I thought he guarded really solid, too. I thought that was a big thing, that he played both ends.”
Los at ISU?
I thought he had a great pace to him. Sometimes when you're younger you get too sped up. He had a bunch of assists by just being patient, patient, changing speeds and waiting until it opened up. I thought his pace and patience was really a key because of how good they defend. They rotate so hard. I thought his pace and changing speeds and patience were a big reason why he had those assists.
Any update on Bijan Cortes?
Day-to-day. We're welcoming him back with open arms. It's day-to-day. We're excited. I think it's moving in the right direction. It's about Bijan and him. We love him, and he's welcome with open arms. We're taking it day-by-day, but we're excited about where it's trending.
