Second-half dominance and emerging stars have turned early doubts into genuine optimism for Oklahoma
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — After a shaky start to the season that left plenty of questions swirling around Norman, Porter Moser’s Oklahoma Sooners have answered loudly with two straight marquee victories: a thrilling 75-74 win over Marquette in Chicago and a convincing 86-68 road dismantling of Wake Forest.
The most encouraging part? Both wins followed an almost identical pattern that highlights this team’s growing resilience and ability to flip a switch when it matters most.
Against Marquette on Friday, the Sooners went into halftime trailing 37-33 in a hostile, pro-Golden Eagles environment. Whatever Moser said in the locker room worked, because Oklahoma came out and outscored Marquette 42-37 in the second half, holding on for the one-point victory.
Fast-forward four days to Tuesday night in Winston-Salem. Oklahoma carried a narrow 37-35 lead into the break against Wake Forest. The second half was a completely different story: the Sooners poured in 49 points while holding the Demon Deacons to just 33, turning a close game into an 18-point blowout.
Do the math on the last two second halves combined: Oklahoma 91, opponents 70. That’s a dominant 21-point margin after intermission against two high-major programs.
In November and December, learning how to finish games like that is pure gold—especially when you remember this is the exact trait Moser’s best Loyola teams used to make deep NCAA Tournament runs.
Players are starting to find consistency, too, and the timing couldn’t be better.
Tae Davis has been the biggest riser. After a quiet seven-point night against Alcorn State, the athletic forward has exploded over the last two games, dropping 19 points against Marquette and 18 against Wake Forest.
His 37 points across those two contests lead the entire Oklahoma roster—proof that Davis is quickly becoming the scoring option this team desperately needed.
Of course, no conversation about this surge is complete without Nigel Pack.
Coming into the year, the prevailing thought was simple: Oklahoma would only go as far as its senior guard would carry them.
So far, Pack looks more than ready for that responsibility.
He’s averaging right around 20 points per game on the season and has been the steadying force in both wins—hanging 24 on Marquette in the nail-biter and adding an efficient 13 in the rout of Wake Forest.
National expectations were modest, if not outright low, for this Sooner squad heading into 2025-26.
Two wins in six days, however, have changed the vibe completely. This doesn’t look like a team still searching for an identity; it looks like a team that’s starting to put the pieces together faster than anyone anticipated.
The schedule doesn’t let up, with Arizona State and Oklahoma State next on the docket before the calendar flips to 2025.
Take care of business in those two, and Oklahoma will head into a loaded SEC slate with legitimate momentum and genuine belief that they’re capable of more than the preseason prognosticators ever gave them credit for.
It’s still early, but the signs are impossible to ignore: Porter Moser’s group is starting to figure it out—and they might be doing it ahead of schedule.