Oklahoma basketball’s nine-game losing streak took them out of tournament contention last season. Can they right the ship and avoid pitfalls this year?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Oklahoma basketball.
We’ll start off this preview with an interesting fact: Oklahoma played 37 games last year and started the exact same five players every game. All five players started and played in every game for Oklahoma basketball last year, and all five recorded at least 800 minutes on the court.
However, the Sooners were victims of momentum last season, starting 11-3 before losing nine game in a row to drop their record below .500. They went an entire month (January 7 to February 7) without an addition to the win column. Unfortunately for Oklahoma basketball, any losing streak longer than six games is typically a fatal blow to tournament hopes, and that’s exactly what happened to the Sooners.
Despite an 8-3 record the rest of the way and a trip to the SEC tournament quarterfinals, the late-season surge simply wasn’t enough to erase the Mid-Winter Misstep of 2026, which will go down in history as one of the worst months in Oklahoma basketball history. A 19-15 record did get them to the College Basketball Crown, where the Sooners won twice before falling to West Virginia in overtime in the championship.
In the offseason, Oklahoma basketball suffered two more losses, those being Nijel Pack and Tae Davis running out of eligibility. But they reloaded well, scoring some pickups from the portal and taking advantage of a late eligibility ruling by one of the various courts seemingly deluged by lawyers representing college athletic departments.
In the backcourt, returnee Xzayvier Brown and SMU transfer B.J. Edwards will man the one and two, though either could fill the point role. We’ll lean towards Brown starting at the one and Edwards at the two, but it’s entirely possible that’s flip-flopped when the season comes around: both are capable of playing each position well.
Behind them on the depth chart is Dayton Forsythe at point, a lanky returning sharpshooter who is capable of spreading the ball around in times of need, and Pop Isaacs and freshman Quincy Wadley at the two.
Isaacs has notably had an up-and-down career, but could settle in nicely to the Sooners for his final season after a tough time at Texas A&M last year. Oklahoma basketball is hoping that his production at Creighton is able to be replicated again. If Wadley can stay healthy, he can sneakily be a scoring specialist off the bench for the Sooners, who will appreciate his offensive ability.
At the wing, the physical Derrion Reid returns from last season’s team. In addition to being a decent rebounder, he can actually shoot pretty well, too, making 35.8% of his threes on a sample size of 2.6 attempts per game. He’s backed up by Utah Valley transfer Tyler Hendricks, who’s a deadeye from deep and produced solidly for the Wolverines last season.
The power forward position could be the shakiest this season, with Louisville transfer Khani Rooths likely earning the starting nod. However, he only averaged 5.3 points per game in 15.9 minutes played per contest, so he doesn’t have quite the experience Oklahoma basketball would like as he joins the fold. There’s talent, sure, but also plenty of questions. He’s backed up by freshman Gage Mayfield, who, like Wadley, could earn playing time early if he practices well in the offseason.
At center, Oklahoma basketball seemingly has Duke Brennan from Villanova, pending ongoing eligibility battles in court. Brennan is an elite rebounder who can also produce offensively, though he’s not a threat from outside. Statistically, he’s an improvement from Mo Wague last season, though Wague’s effort and physicality will certainly be missed. Behind Brennan is Oregon State transfer Yaak Yaak and sophomore returnee Kai Rogers, both of which can be solid bench pieces but likely aren’t ready for a starting role.
Oklahoma basketball is back? Maybe. Actually, it completely depends on if B.J. Edwards and Duke Brennan are able to play. Porter Moser is here to stay? Maybe. That also probably depends on Edwards and Brennan’s eligibility. Rumors have swirled about Moser’s job standing for the past few years, but ultimately both he and the Oklahoma athletic department have been content thus far with him staying in Norman, and Moser is entering his sixth season at a Power Five institution that’s won 20 games in each of the past three seasons. That’s more than a lot of other coaches can say.
Head coach: Porter Moster (6th season at Oklahoma, 23rd overall)
2025-26 record: 21-16 (7-11)
2026 postseason finish: Runner-up for the College Basketball Crown
Notable departures:
- Nijel Pack (16.8 PPG, 3.2 APG, 3.0 RPG)
- Tae Davis (13.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.3 APG)
- Mohamed Wague (6.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.3 APG)
- Jadon Jones (5.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.8 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Pitt (Nov. 24) – Fort Myers, FL
- vs. Purdue (Nov. 26) – Fort Myers, FL
- vs. Syracuse (Dec. 1)
- vs. Arizona State (Dec. 5) – Tulsa, OK
- vs. Oklahoma State (Dec. 12) – Oklahoma City
- at SMU (Dec. 22)
Projected Rotation
PG: Xzayvier Brown (6-3, 185, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.4 PPG, 3.3 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 87.4 FT%
SG: B.J. Edwards (6-3, 200, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 12.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, 37.3 3P% (SMU)
SF: Derrion Reid (6-8, 225, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 35.8 3P%
PF: Khani Rooths (6-9, 215, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.0 APG, 63.8 2P% (Louisville)
C: Duke Brennan (6-10, 260, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 12.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 65.8 2P% (Villanova)
6: Pop Isaacs (6-2, 185, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 9.8 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.5 RPG, 39.6 3P% (Texas A&M)
7: Tyler Hendricks (6-6, 185, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 44.8 3P% (Utah Valley)
8: Dayton Forsythe (6-2, 190, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, 1.4 RPG, 86.0 FT%
9: Yaak Yaak (7-0, 230, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 6.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.4 APG (Oregon State)
10: Quincy Wadley (6-5, 175, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 59 ranked recruit
11: Kai Rogers (6-10, 250, So.)
2025-26 stats: 1.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 RPG, 8.0 MPG
12: Gage Mayfield (6-7, 220, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 89 ranked recruit
Oklahoma basketball team MVP: Xzayvier Brown
Brown, arguably Oklahoma basketball’s best player last season, returns for his second and senior season in Norman after spending the first two years of his collegiate career at St. Joe’s. His touch from the free-throw line (87.4 FT% in 2025-26) and previous deep-shooting prowess (40.4 3PT% as a freshman) indicates he could improve on his already solid perimeter numbers, and sharing a backcourt with B.J. Edwards will provide a pretty seamless transition from last year’s backcourt partner of Nijel Pack. (That is, as long as Edwards is granted eligibility.)
Though he’s not the biggest guard, Brown’s quickness and high release point negates any concerns about his size. Last season, his best game of the season came against rival Oklahoma State, in which he scored 21 points on just nine shots and added five assists and a steal. The Sooners won by nine points, with the margin no doubt influenced by Brown’s performance. However, he also had 14 games in which he scored between 20-24 points, never reaching the 25-point mark but consistently getting to 20 in almost half of his games played.
In his last game that mattered, (sorry, Crown enjoyers) Brown shot 2-10 from the field and scored just four points against Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, his second-lowest output of the year. If anything, it’s motivation to enter this season at full speed to lead Oklahoma basketball back to the NCAA tournament.
Oklahoma basketball make-or-break player: Duke Brennan
This passage (and possibly Oklahoma’s season) depends on eligibility rulings for fifth-year player Duke Brennan. With every and all due respect to Yaak Yaak and Kai Rogers, the center position is mightily improved by Brennan’s addition, who averaged a double-double last year with Villanova. Brennan started his career at Arizona State, spent two years at Grand Canyon, and finished his first senior season with the Wildcats.
Standing tall at 6’10”, Brennan had one game against Queens last season with 17 points and 20 rebounds. Against Pitt, Brennan scored 24 points on 8-8 shooting from the field and added nine rebounds and four assists. When Brennan scored more than 16 points last season, Villanova was 4-0 with three wins over Power Five opponents. Having a solid, proven center to replace Mohamed Wague is great news for Oklahoma basketball and Porter Moser, just as long as Brennan is allowed to play.
Key statistic: Three-point percentage
The Sooners were on-target with their attempts from deep last season. Oklahoma basketball ranked 40th nationally with a 36.5 3PT% last year, second in the SEC behind only Arkansas. Two of the top five three-point shooters return from last season, (Brown and Reid) as does Dayton Forsythe, who can certainly shoot the rock but was the unfortunate victim of an extended slump in early 2026.
Does Oklahoma have the chops to keep up the great shooting numbers? It’s entirely possible. Utah Valley transfer Tyler Hendricks was elite from deep last year at a 44.8 3PT% on 4.8 attempts per game, while B.J. Edwards posted a better-than-average 37.3% clip from deep with SMU. Add in Brown, Reid, and Forsythe returning, and that’s a solid recipe for perimeter scoring prowess. If Oklahoma returns to the NCAA tournament this season, it will be because of three-point shooting.
Oklahoma basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 13th in the SEC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament second round exit