OU Basketball: Oklahoma Guard Jeremiah Fears Questionable vs. Tennessee

Jeremiah Fears suffered an injury in the Sooners' loss to Auburn earlier in the week, and his status for Saturday is uncertain.

John Reed-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma may be without its freshman phenom against No. 4 Tennessee.

Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears is listed as questionable for the game against the Volunteers in the Southeastern Conference’s weekly availability report, released on Friday evening.

Fears suffered an apparent leg injury in the second half of the Sooners’ 98-70 loss to No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday.

OU coach Porter Moser didn’t offer many comments about Fears’ status at his press conference on Friday.

“I’m going to defer to the availability report at 7 today,” Moser said.

OU Basketball: No. 1 Auburn Dominates Oklahoma in Second Half, Sooners Are 3-6 in SEC

Fears’ last game is one he’d like to forget, and not just because of the injury suffered.

Despite still finishing in double figures (10 points), Fears went 1-for-8 from the field and committed five turnovers. He also earned a technical foul in the second half, thanks to a verbal altercation with Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara.

Whether Fears plays against Tennessee or not, Moser believes his freshman’s struggles against Auburn will make him a better competitor.

“He’s gotta go through it, gotta learn... older guys and what they’re trying to do and get in their head,” Moser said. “A huge, hostile environment. He has to go through some of it. What we do is continue to talk to him and  learn and show him what they’re trying to do and how to handle situations.”

That rough outing came after a really strong one against Vanderbilt. Fears logged 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting that game, helping the Sooners outscore Vanderbilt 61-27 in the second half and win 97-67.

Fears is averaging 17.7 points per game in SEC wins and 10.2 points per game in SEC losses.

Though Fears’ play has been more inconsistent since the beginning of OU’s SEC schedule, he’s been a standout for the Sooners.

Fears earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice during the non-conference portion of Oklahoma’s schedule. He’s averaging 15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

If Fears is unable to go, guard Kobe Elvis will likely see an increase in minutes. Elvis, who started several games earlier in the season, is averaging 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

“Kobe got a ton of reps yesterday,” Moser said. “I’m counting on him. He’s an older guard in this game.”

The Sooners (16-6, 3-6 SEC) are tied for 13th out of the SEC’s 16 members. They had won three of their last four games before falling to Auburn.

Saturday’s game between OU and Tennessee at the Lloyd Noble Center will begin at 11 a.m.