SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2024-25 season

15. Oklahoma Sooners

What to expect from Oklahoma in its first year in the SEC is somewhat unknown. Under Porter Moser, the Sooners have not made the NCAA Tournament and have not finished with a winning conference record. Joining an even deeper league might limit the success of Moser and the Sooners this year. 

The Sooners had to replace its top two scorers from last year, as both Javian McCollum and Otega Oweh entered the transfer portal after the season ended. But Moser won’t be completely starting over on offense this season. Jason Moore (11.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg) returns as the only double-digit scorer from last year's team.

Oklahoma added a handful of solid scorers this offseason. Duke Miles (15.5 ppg), Brycen Goodine (13.9 ppg), and Jadon Jones (12.1 ppg) all averaged more than 12 points per game last year in the mid-major ranks. The Sooners improved on the offensive end last season, but still leaned on three players to keep the team afloat and will need all of these players to score consistently.

The biggest upside for most Porter Moser teams is the defense. He likes to slow the games down and limit the number of shots. Oklahoma returns its top two rebounders from last season, Jalon Moore (6.7 rpg) and Sam Godwin (5.2 rpg). The transfer additions are clearly better on the offensive end of the court, so the defense might take a slight step back, but Moser usually gets his players to buy in on that end of the court and will need his team to do so this season if he expects the Sooners to compete for an NCAA Tournament spot. 

If the transfer additions can adapt well to the SEC and replicate the production from the mid-major ranks, then this ranking might be a touch low. Oklahoma should be competitive this season, but there are still questions about the roster makeup as a whole. Many of the roster additions this offseason were perimeter players, so the depth issues in the post might cost the Sooners some games this season. Oklahoma struggled down the stretch last season and didn’t add enough this offseason to instill confidence that it will be one of the better teams in the SEC.