Nebraska Basketball vs. Oklahoma: Preview, Breakdown

Oklahoma Scout

Head Coach

Porter Moser | 5th season at Oklahoma; 22nd as HC | 76-60 (.559) at OU; 369-302 (.550) Career Record | 3x NCAA Tournament Apps., 1x Final Four, 1x Sweet 16, 1x CBI Title | 3x MVC Regular Season Titles, 2x MVC Tournament Titles | 1x MVC Coach OTY (2018)) | Previous head coach at Loyola Chicago, Illinois State and Arkansas-Little Rock | Previous assistant at Saint Louis, Arkansas-Little Rock, Texas A&M, Milwaukee and Creighton.

2024 Finish

L, 59-67 to UConn in NCAA Tournament First Round.

2024 Record & Awards

20-14 (6-12 SEC, T-13th) | All-SEC: 1x All-Freshman.

All-Time Series

Oklahoma leads 105-83 (Nov. 24, 2022, ESPN Events Invite last matchup, 69-56 OU) 

Key Returners

• Dayton Forsythe | G | Jr. | Appeared in 31 games off the bench last season (4.3 PPG) and has taken on a similar role for the 2025-2026 season.
• Mohamed Wague | F/C | Sr. | Emerged as the Sooner's starting center after starting in only four of his 33 games last season.
• Kuol Atak | F | R-Fr. | Redshirted last season and has averaged 17 minutes off the bench with 8.3 points.

Key Departures

• Jeremiah Fears | PG | NBA Draft | Taken seventh overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2025 NBA Draft after scoring over 17 points and four assists per game as a true freshman.
• Jalon Moore | F | Graduated | One of only two players to average double figures (15.9 PPG) last season for the Sooners as a senior.
• Duke Miles | G | Transfer | Now at Vanderbilt for his last collegiate season after averaging 9.4 points and shooting over 40% from three for OU in 2024-2025.
• Brycen Goodine | G | Graduated | OU's sharpshooter last year with a 42.5% mark from three-point land while averaging eight points a contest.
• Kobe Elvis | G | Graduated | Part-time starter that contributed seven points a game with the second-most assists (95).
• Sam Godwin | F | Graduated | Started in all 30 of his appearances last year with 6.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
• Glenn Taylor Jr. | F | Graduated | Played in all 34 games, mostly off the bench, averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

• Xzayvier Brown | G | Jr. | St. Joseph's transfer that was an All-A10 First Team pick as a sophomore and leads OU in scoring (18.7 PPG) through his first three games with the SEC newcomer.
• Nijel Pack | G | R-Sr. | Power conference journeyman that owns a 14.3-point career scoring average going into his sixth collegiate season with the Sooners; has scored 16.3 points per game in three contests.
• Tae Davis | F | Sr. | Notre Dame transfer that's averaging a double-double with 11.7 points and 10.3 rebounds through three games.
• Derrion Reid | F | Soph. | Spent his freshman season at Alabama, where he played in 24 of the team's 37 games, posting 10 points a game as a starter for OU.
• Jeff Nwankwo | G | R-Sr. | JUCO transfer that didn't play last season due to injury; rotation player for OU off the bench, averaging over 21 minutes a game.

Outlook

Struggling to find its footing in a tough Big 12 conference, Oklahoma matched its highest win total under head coach Peter Moser in his fourth season, going 20-14 with a 6-12 mark in a loaded SEC. Despite the lowly conference record, the Sooners made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, bowing out in the first round to the defending champions, UConn.

NBA lottery pick Jeremiah Fears highlighted a group of departures that included OU's top seven scorers — leaving Moser and the Sooners with a depleted nucleus. 6-foot-10 center Mohamed Wague is the only returner who grabbed a starting spot for 2025-2026, scoring eight points per game while adding seven rebounds.

That made OU and Moser busy buyers in the transfer portal, with four of the five starters coming from different schools. That group is led by point guard Xzayvier Brown, an A-10 First Team selection as a sophomore at St. Joseph's. That has translated well through his first three games with the Sooners, averaging over 18 points, including a 21-point showing in a loss to Gonzaga. Redshirt senior guard Nijel Pack has nearly matched his new teammate in scoring (16.3 PPG) amidst his sixth collegiate season. Going into 2025, the Indianapolis native owned a career average of 14.3 points per game after stops at Miami and Kansas State.

Notre Dame transfer and 6-foot-9 forward Tae Davis has been a star in three contests, averaging a double-double, including a 15-rebound, 13-point performance against Arkansas-Pine Bluff last time out. Alabama transfer Derrion Reid (10 PPG) has also made a big impact in the starting lineup after appearing in 24 of 37 games last season for the Crimson Tide.

The Sooners were impressive in the portal — and they needed to be — with that sentiment showing in 24/7's transfer portal class rankings with OU coming in at No. 11 overall. Besides an 83-69 loss to top-20 Gonzaga (who crushed Creighton on Tuesday), the Sooners have looked impressive in blowouts over Saint Francis and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. It's a tough one to call, especially being so early in the season, but give me the Huskers, who always seem to play well inside the Sanford Pentagon.