Ryan is managing editor 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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The Portland Trail Blazers return home from a 3-0 trip with a four-game winning streak to face their most daunting home stand of the season starting Sunday afternoon with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Blazers have lost twice to the Thunder, falling 137-114 at home on Nov. 1 and 109-99 on the road on Nov. 20.

The Blazers put forth an impressive defensive effort at the Thunder to trail by just one point entering the fourth quarter.

Portland has played impressively on defense lately, allowing 96 points per game during their last four victories. But it’s doubtful Portland’s defense will hold up against the Thunder.

Oklahoma City ranks sixth in offensive rating (116), first in defensive rating (103.7) and first in net rating (plus-12.3).

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA with 32 points per game.

Prediction: The Thunder will win. There’s no need for an explanation.

• • •

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

What: Trail Blazers (17-28) vs. Thunder (36-8), 3 p.m., Sunday.

Where: Moda Center.

Radio: Rip City Radio (KPOJ 620 AM).

TV channel: KATU (Antenna: 2.2 in Portland. Xfinity: 302 and 1170. DirecTV: 688-1. KUNP (Antenna: 47.1. Xfinity: 16, 302, 1170. DirecTV: 47. Spectrum: 184).

How to Watch: Rip City TV Network. If you don’t have cable, you can still watch this game live for FREE with the help of an HDTV antenna on your local ABC affiliate (Charge 2.2 in Portland). These antennas are very easy to install and cost around $20. You can purchase one at your local Bi-Mart or Fred Meyer, or buy one online at Walmart or from Amazon and have it shipped quickly to your home. Here are some instructions on how to set up an HDTV antenna on your television or other display. You can find out more about which channel Rip City TV Network is on in your area by using the channel finder here.

• • •

ODDS (Oregon Lottery/DraftKings)

Moneyline: POR +470 | OKC -650

Spread: POR +11.5 | Over/Under: 225.5

INJURIES

Blazers: Deandre Ayton (right knee soreness) and Matisse Thybulle (right ankle sprain) are out for Friday.

Thunder: Cason Wallace (nasal fracture) is available. Luguentz Dort (right knee soreness), Chet Holmgren (right iliac fracture), Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) and Ajay Mitchell (right toe surgery) are

NEXT UP

The Blazers host Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)

FAYETTEVILLE — It wasn’t pretty, but Oklahoma got the job done. Despite leading by 13 points at one point in the first half and playing well for much of the opening 16 minutes, the Sooners found themselves in another tight battle.

After a rough stretch to start the second half, where Oklahoma went cold and committed seven turnovers, the game was knotted at 62-62 with just 1:20 left.

Out of a sideline inbounds, the Sooners went to Jalon Moore, who drew a foul and hit one of two free throws. Then, after a big defensive stop, Mohamed Wague was called for an offensive foul, giving Arkansas one last chance with 24.7 seconds to go.

The Razorbacks couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. Duke Miles grabbed the rebound, fed it to Moore, who slammed it home, sealing a 65-62 victory for the Sooners, moving them to 15-4 (2-4) on the season.

“We knew they were going to be physical and drive it,” said Porter Moser. “We were all about getting that rebound, making a tough shot, and then going to get it. It’s like how they won the Georgia game—Thiero came and took it and got that offensive rebound. We talked about that in that huddle: ‘We’ve got to get the rebound.’”

— Oklahoma’s three-point shooting was key in the first half. The Sooners hit 7 of 16 from deep (43.8%), taking full advantage of Arkansas’ struggles to defend the perimeter. Glenn Taylor sank two, Luke Northweather added one off the bench, and Jeremiah Fears got in on the action early. Oklahoma’s ability to stretch the floor had the Razorbacks scrambling defensively.

Brycen Goodine shined from behind the arc, scoring 9 points on 3-6 shooting. He was hot in the first half but struggled with foul trouble in the second. “He’s such a threat from three,” said Moser. “Even when he doesn’t get it, you can look at the tape—they’re shading him. So it opens up driving lanes.”

— Arkansas closed the half on a 9-0 run, flipping the momentum heading into the break. OU’s 13-point lead vanished in a hurry, cut to just four as the Razorbacks came alive late. The Sooners controlled most of the game but went ice-cold down the stretch, failing to make a field goal in the final four minutes.

— Halfway through the second half, the Sooners had scored just 9 points in the first 10 minutes. They hadn’t hit a field goal in the last 3:47 and had committed 7 turnovers during the 10-minute span.

— The Sooners leaned heavily on Jalon Moore, who played 37 minutes and finished with 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds. Moore, Fears, and Miles each logged 30+ minutes in the game.

— Fears finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists on 4-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 1-of-1 from three. He logged 32 minutes and committed just two turnovers. Moser highlighted a key growth moment for Fears in the first half.

“One of the key plays for him in this game came when he got trapped by their bench in the first half. Instead of panicking, he didn’t just throw it away. He stepped through, got it out to Sam, and we ended up with a dunk.

“That was a huge growth play because when you get trapped, sometimes you just ‘hot potato’ it. But he stepped through, made sure he got it out, and when we did, we got a dunk. I thought that was a really big play for him.”

Fears took a hard hit and went down with an apparent leg injury late in the first half, but it didn’t faze him. “He just doesn’t have a lot of fear. He’s not afraid of any moment. I think everyone else was more worried when he went down than he was. He got hit in the thigh, but what I liked is that when he went back in, he didn’t let it be an excuse. He played really hard.”

— Taylor and Northweather provided solid contributions off the bench. Taylor finished with 8 points on 3-7 shooting and added six rebounds in 23 minutes. Northweather chipped in 6 points, including three clutch free throws, despite going 1-4 from beyond the arc.

— Oklahoma’s shooting was a tale of two halves. The Sooners started strong from beyond the arc, going 7-16 (43.8%) in the first half. But they went cold in the second half, missing all five of their three-point attempts. Overall, they finished 7-21 (33.3%) from deep and 21-51 (41.2%) from the field, with 13 turnovers.

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