Oklahoma Sooners Stats at Insiders Betting Digest

Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners

NCAAB – BIG 12

Arena: Lloyd Noble Center
Coach: Porter Moser

Oklahoma Sooners

Team Leaders

Oklahoma Sooners Team Summary

Oklahoma is on a nice little run of late, missing only one NCAA Tournament (2017) in the last eight seasons, excluding the 2020 cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that stretch, the program reached a Final Four (2016), the Sooners’ fifth all-time and second this century. It included the conclusion of Buddy Hield’s career, exiting as the second all-time scorer in program history with 2,291 points.

Playing since 1908, Oklahoma slots as the 32nd most wins entering the 2021-22 season with a program record of 1,722-1,104 (.609)

So far, Oklahoma has gotten off to a solid 10-2 start in nonconference play but is 2-3 to open Big 12 play under first-year coach Porter Moser. He’s the 14th head coach in a program that has had many great ones, and expectations are high as the school will transition to the Southeastern Conference in the coming years.

Oklahoma Sooners Standnings

Oklahoma Sooners Betting Trends

Oklahoma Sooners History

Oklahoma is tied for the 13th-most NCAA Tournament berths with 33. That includes playing in the first Final Four in 1939, losing 55-37 against Oregon. The Sooners are tied for 16th in Final Four appearances with five. Kelvin Sampson led them to the first Final Four appearance this century in 2002, losing 73-64 to Indiana.

Buddy Hield’s senior year was fruitful. Under Lon Kruger, the Sooners returned to the Final Four, losing 95-51 to eventual champion Villanova.

There are two national championship appearances in program history. The first was in 1947 with a 58-47 loss to Holy Cross in the championship game. In 1988, Oklahoma had four eventual NBA players on the team, though would ultimately lose to Kansas 83-79.

For a program with longevity and winning, Oklahoma has only had 23 players reach the NBA. though half of them played for 10 seasons or more.

Key Stats

Oklahoma has been impressive on the defensive end, limiting teams to 62.1 points per game, which is 29th in the country. Teams are only shooting 30.1% on 3s against them, 58th in the country.

The Sooners average 72.4 points per game, which is above average, but where they really excel is their efficiency. Oklahoma has the ninth-best shooting percentage in the country, converting 49.9% of attempts.

Porter Moser likes to go nine deep in his rotation, three of which score in double figures and two more are on the cusp. Landing the Groves brothers from Eastern Washington has been beneficial. Tanner is leading the team with 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Umoja Gibson pours in 12.5 points per game and Elijah Harkless adds 10.2 more points per contest.

Oklahoma has been strong at home this season, going 8-1 on its homecourt. But that path gets tougher as conference play continues with games against Kansas and Baylor on deck.

Despite a winning record straight up, the Sooners are 8-9 against the spread, including 2-3 in conference play. Against over/unders, they are 10-7 though (3-2 in conference).

Right now, Oklahoma’s national championship odds are anywhere from +6,000 to +13,000. While that seems like long odds, the Groves brothers made a nice run last March Madness, and Moser took Loyola-Chicago to the Sweet Sixteen with an upset over No. 1 seed Illinois.

Championships Won by the Team

While Oklahoma hasn’t won a national championship, or even a National Invitation Tournament title, they are winners of 14 regular-season conference championships and seven conference tournament titles. The first of which was in the Missouri Valley Conference in 1928.

The following year, they won the Big 6 conference, for which they’d compete in until it became the Big 7, Big 8, and Big 12. The last Big 12 regular-season title came in 2005 while their last Big 12 Tournament title was in 2003.

Seven of the Sooners’ postseason appearances have been in the NIT. Those include a 84-65 semifinals loss to Bradley in 1982 and a 78-72 loss to Stanford in the 1991 championship.

The 1989 runner-up team featured four NBA players. Ricky Grace played three games but the other three — Stacey King, Harvey Grant, and Mookie Blaylock — all lasted at least 10 seasons with Blaylock and Grant playing 13 each.

Important Team Events

The hiring of Billy Tubbs ahead of the 1980-81 season was significant. He turned a 9-18 team in his first season to a 22-11 team a season later. What followed was eight straight NCAA Tournament berths beginning in 1983, the second-longest streak in program history. But Oklahoma kept hiring well after Tubbs. Since that 1983 appearance, the Sooners have made 27 NCAA Tournament berths.

Sampson took the team to 11 tournaments in his 12 seasons, including the first nine seasons roaming the Oklahoma bench. Jeff Capel made it in two of his five seasons. Lon Kruger followed, reaching six in seven years, and eight total.

It’s up to Porter Moser to continue the stretch as Oklahoma will soon join the Southeastern Conference. The target date is the 2024-25 season but there is speculation among media that it could be moved up.

Though under Sampson’s tenure, the NCAA investigated the program and found that he and his staff made 550 illegal calls to 17 recruits, leading to no off-campus recruiting or phone calls for Sampson for a year.

Top Players

There are five Sooners who have their jerseys retired. They include: Mookie Blaylock (point guard, 1987-89), Wayman Tisdale (forward, 1982-85), Blake Griffin (forward, 2007-09), Alvan Adams (forward, 1972-75), and Stacey King (forward/center, 1985-89).

Tisdale (15.3), Adams (14.1), and Blaylock (13.5) played at least 13 seasons in the NBA and averaged double figures during that period. Griffin is in his 12th season and averages 20.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.

Tisdale was a two-time consensus first-team All-American. King earned that honor once.

Buddy Hield’s number is not yet retired but it may come soon. Griffin’s occurred seven years after he left Oklahoma and Hield left in 2016. He’s currently in his fifth season with the Sacramento Kings with career averages of 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.

Trae Young is a rising star in the NBA. In his third season, he’s scoring 24.7 points per game to go with 8.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.

All three of Griffin, Hield, and Young won National Player of the Year during their Oklahoma tenure.

Top Coaches

Billy Tubbs is the program’s winningest coach by wins (333) and in winning percentage (71.6%). His hiring set the Sooners on a historic run of 27 NCAA Tournament berths over a span of 38 seasons, including the cancellation of the tournament in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelvin Sampson is second in wins, compiling a 280-188 record. His 11 NCAA Tournament appearances are the most among any Oklahoma coach.

Bruce Drake, who coached from 1938-55 with a 200-182 career record has the most regular-season conference championships, winning six in his career.

Lon Kruger had a decade of excellence in his own right from 2011-21. His teams compiled a 195-128 record, appearing in seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and producing both Trae Young and Buddy Hield.

Bob Stevens is the infamous Oklahoma coach to exit with a losing record, coaching teams to a 46-79 record from 1962-67.