Oklahoma’s Season Started With a Disaster—and March Could Make It Hurt Again

Oklahoma has months to repair its season. It has already given itself something to repair.

Monday’s 68–64 home loss to East Texas A&M was a damaging start for a program hoping to build a postseason case. It was also a historic victory for the Lions, who earned their first win over a power-conference opponent.

Oklahoma cannot explain this away as a single desperate shot at the buzzer. East Texas A&M led for more than 31 minutes and built an advantage as large as 16. The Sooners spent much of their opener trying to recover control of their own floor.

That should concern Porter Moser more than the embarrassment attached to the opponent’s name.

The free throws were costly—and fixable

Oklahoma missed 15 free throws.

In a four-point game, that is an obvious place to begin. The Sooners created chances to score without a defender contesting the shot and left too many of those chances unused.

Still, free throws should not become a convenient explanation for everything else. Better shooting at the line might have changed the result. It would not erase the stretches that allowed East Texas A&M to build its lead.

The coaching review needs to address how Oklahoma starts possessions, how it responds when an opponent gains confidence and whether its offensive decisions remain sound under pressure.

A favorite that falls behind can become impatient. Quick attempts and attempts to recover the entire deficit at once can make a difficult situation worse. The appropriate response is a sequence of good possessions, with enough defensive stops to make those possessions count.

The postseason consequence remains uncertain

The precise résumé cost cannot be assigned in November. It will depend partly on how both teams perform over the rest of the season.

But the practical problem is already clear: Oklahoma missed an opportunity to bank a home victory. That leaves less room for other disappointing results and increases the importance of earning meaningful wins elsewhere.

A difficult conference schedule can offer those opportunities. It can also expose weaknesses that an early loss first revealed.

That makes the next few weeks important for reasons beyond the standings. Oklahoma needs to show that its response involves better decisions and sustained concentration, rather than a temporary burst of energy after an embarrassing night.

East Texas A&M deserves full credit for finishing the job. The Lions came to Norman and earned the result.

Oklahoma’s responsibility is to make sure that result becomes the beginning of a correction. If the Sooners reach March needing one more win, the opener will be difficult to forget.