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Oklahoma Ready for Prime Time Showcase Against 'Storied' North Carolina

Porter Moser's No. 7-ranked Sooners will put their perfect record on the line against the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels at the Jumpman Invitational on Wednesday.
Ryan Chapman|
Oklahoma Ready for Prime Time Showcase Against 'Storied' North Carolina
Oklahoma Ready for Prime Time Showcase Against 'Storied' North Carolina

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma’s biggest hurdle of the non-conference schedule is finally here.

Wednesday night, the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC, will be bathed in Carolina Blue as the No. 11-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels meet the No. 7 Sooners in the Jumpman Invitational.

OU (10-0) stands as one of college basketball’s final four unbeaten teams, but the Sooners have yet to take on a team as talented as the Tar Heels (7-3).

Led by R.J. Davis, who is No. 12-nationally in scoring averaging 21.6 points per game, and veteran big man Armando Bacot, every level of Oklahoma’s defense will be tested in Charlotte.

Bacot is 11th in the country, pulling down 113 rebounds so far this year, and the senior will be a threat that OU’s Sam Godwin and John Hugley IV will have to try and corral all night.

“He’s a tremendous scorer,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said on Tuesday. “He’s experienced. He knows how to get angles. He’s quick. He’s got a quick spin move. He’s got quick moves in there. Obviously he’s got length and touch. He’s probably the best big man in the country.”

If Bacot isn’t hurting teams around the basket, Davis is usually making them pay from deep.

The 6-foot-0 senior is shooting 44.0 percent from the floor and knocking down 36.0 percent of his attempts from deep as he calmly works his way around the arc to attack defenses.

“You want him to (shoot) a lot of shots to get points, you know,” Moser said. “And you want to wear him out. He’s going to play 36-38 minutes. We’ve got to continue to run different guys at him. Wear him out with our depth.

“But we’ve got to make him work for everything. He moves tremendously without the ball… if you lose vision on him… (Davis will) get lost and all of a sudden he’s catching it and shooting 3. He’s just tremendous. One of the best scorers in college basketball.”

Beyond just Davis and Bacot, 6-7 forward Harrison Ingram also does a little bit of everything for the Tar Heels, adding 14.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Together, North Carolina is one of the best scoring teams in the country. The Tar Heels average 84.9 points per game, which ranks 26th.

Oklahoma’s defense, which has allowed just 61.3 points per game (15th nationally) quieted Providence and Arkansas, but the Sooners will face a different challenge in Charlotte.

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Though OU didn’t have a home court advantage in Tulsa against the Razorbacks, there split was equitable.

Wednesday night, the crowd is going to be all there to see North Carolina play.

Moser’s roster is contracted a bit differently this year than his past two teams, however. All three of his reserves — Hugley, Le’Tre Darthard and Rivaldo Soares — are veteran players who have plenty of college basketball under their belts as opposed to fresh-faced freshmen experiencing a road atmosphere for the first time.

“You’ve gotta embrace it,” Moser said. “… Once you start doing it, you embrace it. That’s what you want. You love college basketball like that.”

The key, Moser said, will be to fight the urge to speed things up if the Tar Heels burst out on a scoring run.

“When it’s going loud, 4-0 run,” said Moser, “what do you want when someone is making a run? You want a good possession. You want to be solid with the ball.

“You don’t need grand slams when a team is on a 4-0 run. You want to get a single or double, a nice play to stop that run. Sometimes people think the only way to stop a run is a grand slam. You don’t. That’s what we’re going to have to be aware of.”

Oklahoma guards Javian McCollum and Milos Uzan will be in charge of setting the pace for the Sooners.

With both taking turns pulling the strings this year, McCollum is averaging 14.3 points and 3.7 assists per game, and Uzan is chipping in 8.4 points and 4.1 assists.

Sophomore Otega Oweh has been a key piece so far, too, leading OU with 14.9 points per game, also adding 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals per contest.

Oweh will likely have to balance his scoring with playing a role in defending Davis on the other end, though the Sooners will share that assignment throughout the night.

If Oklahoma is able to keep its perfect season alive in Charlotte, OU will have an opportunity to enter Big 12 play unbeaten for the first time sine the 2015-16 season — a year that ended with Buddy Hield leading the Sooners to the Final Four.

Just Central Arkansas and Monmouth remain on the schedule before conference play begins, but all eyes are trained on the Tar Heels.

The top 11 battle is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

“There’s no question this group is excited to compete,” Moser said. “That’s the word I use – compete. Not just excited to play but compete against one of the most storied programs in the country.”

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is co-publisher at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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