Sooners up to challenge of SEC
With Oklahoma joining the Southeastern Conference in 2025, Sooners fans used the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to show Alabama the energy they plan to bring.
After taunting the second-ranked Crimson Tide with chants of “S-E-C” and “o-ver-ra-ted” in the second half, the fans stormed the court — a rare occurrence at Oklahoma. Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 30 points, and the Sooners beat Alabama 93-69 on Saturday.
It was the kind of moment second-year coach Porter Moser envisioned when he left Loyola of Chicago for Oklahoma.
“The crowd was unbelievable,” he said. “I sat there when the crowd rushed the floor — you know, my younger self might have ran out in the middle of it — and I just sat there and just said, ‘This is a vision.’ ”
Jalen Hill added a careerhigh 26 points on nine-for-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. He also was assigned to guard Alabama freshman Brandon Miller, who came in averaging 19.5 points but finished with 11 on four-for-14 shooting.
Hill said he wanted to show what he was about.
“I feel like I had something to prove,” the senior said. “He’s going to be a topfive draft pick at the end of the day, and I just wanted to prove to everybody — the scouts, the country — that I can hang with him.”
Moser said it was a typical performance for Hill.
“What he does night in and night out, the guys he guards — he’s guarding lottery picks and he is resilient,” Moser said.
Tanner Groves had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma (12-9), which shot 58% from the field and had a season high in points.
The Crimson Tide (18-3) had won nine in a row.
at No. 3 Houston 75, Cincinnati 69:
Jarace Walker had a career-high 25 points, and the Cougars (20-2, 8-1 American Athletic Conference) rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit.
No. 4 Tennessee 82, No. 10 Texas 71:
Olivier Nkamhoua scored 27 points and Zakai Zeigler had 22 points and 10 assists to lead the Volunteers (18-3) over the Longhorns (17-4) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
at No. 5 Kansas State 64, Florida 50:
Keyontae Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds against his former team, and the Wildcats (18-3) won in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
at No. 7 Virginia 76, Boston College 57:
Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner scored 18 points each and the Cavaliers (16-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a big first-half run for their sixth straight victory.
No. 9 Kansas 77, at Kentucky 68:
Jalen Wilson scored 22 points, including one of a series of huge threepointers down the stretch, and the Jayhawks (17-4) won in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
at Mississippi State 81, No. 11 Texas Christian 74, OT:
Tolu Smith had 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to help the Bulldogs (13-8) stop a five-game skid.
at Missouri 78, No. 12 Iowa State 61:
Kobe Brown scored 20 points with 12 rebounds to help the Tigers (16-5) take down the Cyclones (15-5) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
at Creighton 84, No. 13 Xavier 67:
Arthur Kamula had 20 points and the Bluejays (13-8, 7-3) earned their fourth straight Big East win.
No. 14 Gonzaga 82, at Portland 67:
Julian Strawther had a career-high 40 points, including eight threes, and the Bulldogs (18-4, 7-1 West Coast Conference) got their 16th straight win over the Pilots.
at West Virginia 80, No. 15 Auburn 77:
Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 31 points and the Mountaineers (13-8) withstood a furious late rally to win an SEC/ Big 12 Challenge matchup.
No. 16 Marquette 89, at DePaul 69:
David Joplin went eight for 11 on threes for a career-high 28 points and the Golden Eagles (17-5, 9-2) moved into a tie with Xavier atop the Big East.
at No. 17 Baylor 67, Arkansas 64:
Keyonte George scored 24 points, including seven in a row down the stretch, and the Bears (16-5) won their sixth straight, in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Hofstra 85, at No. 18 Charleston 81:
Aaron Estrada scored 25 points and the Pride ended the 20game winning streak of the Cougars (21-2, 9-1 Colonial Athletic Association).
at Pittsburgh 71, No. 20 Miami 68:
Blake Hinson tipped in a miss with 31 seconds remaining and the Panthers rallied past the Hurricanes (16-5, 7-4 ACC).
at No. 21 Florida Atlantic 70, Western Kentucky 63:
Brandon Weatherspoon scored 14 points and the Owls (21-1, 11-0 Conference USA) extended their winning streak to a programrecord 20 games, which is now the nation’s longest.
No. 22 Saint Mary’s 57, at Brigham Young 56:
Aidan Mahaney’s jumper with 0.3 seconds left lifted the Gaels (19-4, 8-0 WCC).
No. 24 Clemson 82, at Florida State 81:
Chase Hunter drove the lane and drew a foul, sinking the free throw to help the Tigers (18-4, 10-1 ACC) escape.
Women at No. 18 Iowa State 86, No. 14 Oklahoma 78:
Ashley Joens scored 32 points to lead the win, overshadowing the Sooners’ Taylor Robertson becoming the Division I career leader in threes.