NORMAN — After being picked to finish 15th out of 16 Southeastern Conference programs, the OU men’s basketball team will open 2025 undefeated at 13-0 and ranked in the top 10 in the USA TODAY SPORTS Coaches Poll.
With six days off after concluding non-conference play, the Sooners will open their conference schedule with a road trip at Alabama at 5 p.m. Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Before OU looks to continue its impressive start to the season, here are three things we learned about Oklahoma heading into the new year:
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True freshman guard Jeremiah Fears is a star
Eighteen-year-old Jeremiah Fears appears to be on his way to becoming a freshman All-American and a first-round draft pick.
Fears has started the season as one of the top freshmen in the country, averaging 18.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Sooners head coach Porter Moser coached some talented players in his first three seasons with the program but he hasn’t had a consistent scorer and playmaker like Fears.
He dropped 20 points and five assists on 7-for-10 shooting in his first start against East Texas A&M on Nov. 21. He then scored 20 points and dished out seven assists against Providence and finished with 26 points against Arizona in the Bahamas. But his breakout came when he converted a four-point play in the final seconds and recorded a career-high 30 points to lift OU over Michigan in front of a nationally televised audience.
A top 25 recruit committed to Illinois in the 2025 class, Fears reclassified to 2024 so he could play immediately. He’s ranked as the No. 16 player in ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA draft big board, which ranks the top 100 prospects.
If the Sooners continue racking up wins and secure an NCAA Tournament berth, Fears will be one of the most talented players in the field.
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OU men’s basketball has multiple scorers
Don’t get it twisted, OU isn’t a one-man show.
While the Sooners certainly haven’t had a player like Fears during the Moser era, they also haven’t had the depth of scorers on one squad. Fears, Kobe Elvis, Duke Miles or Jalon Moore can score 20-plus points on any given night.
Moore has scored 20 or more points seven times this season. Elvis has dropped 24 and 26 in games this season and Miles might be the hottest scorer on the team at the moment, he’s averaging 21 in his past three games.
And that’s not even factoring in the depth of veteran role players like Sam Godwin, Brycen Goodine and Glenn Taylor Jr.
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Oklahoma plays together
When asked what he’s learned about his team following non-conference play, Moser was quick to answer.
“They’re resilient,” Moser said. “All the expectations that were told to us before are out the window.”
There have been several first halves during non-conference play where the Sooners have played down to some lowly opponents. But they always bounce back strong in the second half. OU trailed Michigan for most of the contest before storming back and winning.
Moser’s team also plays with joy.
Whether Fears is going one night or Elvis or Miles, everyone on the bench is engaged and happy for their teammates.
“I like that everybody can take accountability, and we can talk to each other,” Miles said. “Nobody in here is selfish, who thinks they’ve got a big head, that’s big on this team. We all come together, no matter whether there is adversity or not.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What we learned about OU basketball in nonconference entering SEC
