Oklahoma
OU Basketball: Oklahoma Enters Postseason Headed in Positive Direction
Around the time Oklahoma was blown out at Florida for a fifth consecutive SEC loss and 3-10 conference record, Sooners coach Porter Moser cleared the deck.
“Two or three weeks ago we were talking about our mission statement,” Moser said Monday during his pre-SEC Tournament press briefing. “We wanted to play better basketball, to win games and to get in the NCAA Tournament.”
The Sooners have played better since their 85-63 nadir in Gainesville back on Feb. 18. They have won three of their last five games, and put themselves in position to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2021, Lon Kruger’s final season in charge.
Play well again in Wednesday’s 8:30 p.m. SEC Tournament opening-round matchup against Georgia, and OU should expect to win again. One more win should just about clinch an NCAA bid, given Georgia’s No. 30 NET ranking and the potential, therefore, for the Sooners’ seventh Quad 1 victory of the season.
It will not be easy. Nothing is easy in the SEC. OU went to the mat to beat Mississippi State 93-87, Missouri 96-84 and Texas 76-72 over the past 18 days.
The No. 14-seed Sooners must work just as hard to beat 11-seed Georgia inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday night.
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“They just won four in a row. Four in a row in the SEC,” Moser said of the Bulldogs. “Silas Demary, their point guard, in the last five games he’s up six points in his point average. He’s at 19 a game in this stretch. He is really playing at a high level.
“They rebound so well. They’re so big and physical. They’re just playing at a high clip, very, very confident.”
The Bulldogs are more confident about March Madness than the Sooners. They are safely in the 68-team field according to bracketologists Joe Lunardi of ESPN and Jerry Palm of CBS.
OU is among Lunardi’s “Last Four In” and facing a First Four play-in game in his mock bracket. The Sooners await the same fate according to USA Today’s NCAA projection. They are an 11-seed in Palm’s bracket and in Mike DeCourcy’s at Fox Sports.
Winning Wednesday takes care of a lot of conjecture. That means changing the result from Jan. 11, the day OU lost 72-62 at Georgia.
“We kind of beat ourselves in a sense,” OU leader Jalon Moore said Monday. “I don’t think we were as connected as we are now.”
“I think the outcome will be different the second time around,” Jeremiah Fears said.
Fears can do a lot to assure it is different. He shot 1-for-11 and had more turnovers (4) than points (2) Jan. 11 in Athens.
Though he didn’t shoot well at Texas last Saturday, Fears did contribute nine free throws and four assists while limiting his turnovers to two. When Moore and teammate, Brycen Goodine, Duke Miles, Glenn Taylor and Luke Northweather all scored in double figures, OU took a giant step toward its most important win of the season.
“To win in this league you’ve gotta have multiple guys producing,” Moser said.
That will certainly be the case this week in Nashville, starting Wednesday night.
“We’re playing together, we’re playing tough, we’re believing. And I think that’s what you want,” Moser said. “You want to be playing your best basketball in February and March.”
Oklahoma
Does Drew Mestemaker Have Path to Heisman at Oklahoma State?
Oklahoma State hasn’t had a Heisman winner since 1988, but it might have a candidate next season.
Throughout OSU football history, there have been some iconic players to roll through Stillwater and plenty more iconic college football seasons. Most recently, Ollie Gordon’s 2023 campaign sent shockwaves through the college football landscape as he broke out to become the nation’s leading rusher and led OSU to a Big 12 Championship appearance and a 10-win season.
Of course, that would be the final big season of the Mike Gundy era. After that 10-4 campaign that saw OSU reach heights no one could have expected, the Cowboys fell off a cliff, winning only four games since.
With Gundy now out at OSU, Eric Morris is looking to bring another era of success to Stillwater, and it might all start with a bang with Drew Mestemaker running the show under center in 2026. Last season, Mestemaker was the starting quarterback for Morris’ North Texas squad and established himself as one of the top passers in the country.
While OSU has seen guys like Brandon Weeden, Mason Rudolph and Zac Robinson over the years, it’s been a while since the Cowboys have had an elite gunslinger, which Mestemaker could soon be in Stillwater. With the Mean Green in 2025, Mestemaker finished with 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions, marks which would make him the talk of college football if he can repeat that against Big 12 competition.
Of course, any Heisman campaign for Mestemaker will be about much more than his impressive numbers on the field. OSU has managed to win only two games against FBS teams in the past two years and is riding a 19-game Big 12 losing streak.
Anything Mestemaker can do in the stat sheet is great, but his real impact that would catch Heisman-like attention is how his play changes the Cowboys’ fate. If OSU can climb back into the Big 12 title picture in just one season after a 1-11 record in 2025, Mestemaker will almost certainly be at the front of that story. After Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman run at Indiana, the stage is clearly set for players like Mestemaker to use immense team success to their advantage in the Heisman race.
Perhaps putting Mestemaker in any sort of Heisman talks is premature, but considering his year at North Texas and how quickly turnarounds can happen in this era of college football, don’t be shocked if a Cowboy is at the Heisman ceremony in December.
Oklahoma
Two arrested on murder complaints following fatal NW OKC sledding crash
Two people were arrested on murder complaints following a deadly sledding crash in northwest Oklahoma City Sunday night, according to police.
Police said the crash happened near Northwest 81st Street and Northwest Walker Avenue.
According to police, Makayla Mitchell, 31, was on a sled being pulled by a car driven by Angel Walzier, 22. Police said the rope connecting the sled to the car broke, and caused Mitchell to stop in the street.
Police said James Kirk, 24, was in a separate car and hit Mitchell.
Mitchell was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
Kirk and Walzier were both evaluated by a Drug Recognition Officer, who believed they both showed signs of impairment.
Police said blood draw warrants were completed for Kirk and Walzier.
Kirk was arrested on multiple complaints, including murder II, aggravated DUI, child endangerment, and causing fatality collision w/o a license.
Walzier was arrested on complaints of murder II and aggravated DUI.
Oklahoma
ODOT warns Oklahomans of black ice forming overnight Sunday
Oklahoma Department of Transportation is warning travelers of black ice throughout the state, discouraging any travel overnight Sunday.
Black ice is defined as a dangerous hazard that blends in with the dark road where it appears wet, but is a thin layer of ice that can cause cars to slide while driving.
Agency officials say they are continuing the roadway treatments and plowing statewide, with minor improvements in West and North/Central Oklahoma roadways.
ODOT says there are still various interstates and highways that can remain slick and snow-covered, including some in OKC and Tulsa.
If travel is necessary, drive with extreme caution.
You can find traffic advisories through the official ODOT portal here.
Live blog tracking Oklahoma traffic impacts, snow totals, and closures in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas.
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