12. Oklahoma Sooners
2024-25 Record: 20-14 (6-12 SEC)
It looked as if Oklahoma was ready to compete on a national stage last season after beating the likes of Arizona, Louisville, and Michigan throughout the non-conference slate. However, last year's Sooners team did exactly what every Sooners team has done under Porter Moser - completely underwhelm in conference play. Oklahoma buoyed its resume on a 13-0 start to the season, and snuck into the NCAA Tournament, its first under Moser, on the coattails of the strength of the SEC following a 6-12 record in conference play.
Nearly all production from last season is no longer on the roster. The only returning players who contributed more than one point per game are Dayton Forsythe and Mohamed Wague, who averaged a combined 8.2 points. With basically a clean slate, Moser brought in quite a few players from the transfer portal. Notably, Oklahoma signed a couple of scorers with a ton of P5 experience. Nijel Pack (13.9 ppg) only played nine games last season at Miami, but he hasn’t averaged less than 12.7 points in his five previous seasons. Tae Davis (15.1 ppg) from Notre Dame provides the Sooners with a solid secondary scorer, and if Xzayvier Brown (17.6 ppg) performs as advertised, Oklahoma’s offense should have three reliable options.
My biggest concern with this year's Oklahoma team is its depth. The starters should be great, but what happens if and when they are off the court? Who steps up? Jadon Jones (12.1 ppg) was solid at Long Beach State, but the rest of the bench is unproven. Though Derrion Reed (6.0 ppg) could make a jump in production, which would be huge for the Sooners on both ends of the court.
This team has plenty of upside, especially from the guards, but with so little continuity from last season, the Sooners are tricky to evaluate. Oklahoma could surprise me this season, but if history is any indication, the Sooners will falter once the schedule picks up in SEC play. I’m going to be cautious when it comes to this Sooners team, but I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong.