Porter Moser's hot seat gets hotter after historic Oklahoma basketball loss

Head coach Porter Moser entered Oklahoma's college basketball season opener against East Texas A&M University with his seat already scorching hot and the Sooners in a make-or-break season.

That seat's temperature has now perhaps reached the surface of the Sun.

The Sooners' season outlook took a catastrophic hit on Monday, Nov. 2 with a stunning 68-64 buy game loss to East Texas A&M University, giving the Lions their first win against an active SEC opponent (and Power Four program).

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"Before we take any questions, the only thing I know what to do is apologize to the fan base and get better," Moser said in his opening statement in his postgame news conference. "I apologize to every single person that came in (tonight)."

And that wasn't the only ugly stat or tidbit to come out from Oklahoma's loss.

The Lions entered Monday as the No. 294th-ranked team in KenPom and were a near 30-point underdog when they left their hotel for shootaround at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. According to ESPN Research, East Texas A&M's win over Oklahoma is the second-largest Division I upset by spread in the last 30 years.

“I apologize to every single person that came in.”
Here’s #Sooners coach Porter Moser’s opening statement following the East Texas A&M loss. pic.twitter.com/sdKww1HGKD

— Colton Sulley (@colton_sulley) November 3, 2026

The loss will likely go down as a Quad 4 loss in the NCAA's NET rankings for Oklahoma, a blemish that could linger throughout the season. That distinction matters because if the Sooners find themselves on the NCAA Tournament bubble, a damaging Quad 4 defeat could ultimately be the difference between earning a spot in the newly expanded 76-team field and being left out.

Oklahoma was down by as many as 16 points by the 17:23 mark of the second half before a layup from Derrion Reid at the 4:55 mark tied the game at 58-58. East Texas A&M University closed the game on an 8-6 run after that to pull off the upset.

The Sooners shot 40% from the field on the night, while turning the ball over 15 times. Oklahoma made just eight field goals in the first half against East Texas A&M University's defense, going 29.6% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Oklahoma missed 15 free throws overall on the night.

"The thing you do in a game like this in basketball that gets you beat, we did – 15 turnovers, 15 missed free throws and plus-18 from the 3-point line. Those are the things that get you beat in this game. We played on our heels all night," Moser lamented.

He added: "We tried to make a comeback, but being on our heels and playing not to lose. Not good enough. That's on me."

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Monday's loss adds to Moser's struggles to find the same success he had at Loyola Chicago before being hired at Oklahoma in 2021. Including Monday's game, the Sooners are just 95-76 under Moser, with a 33-57 mark in conference games, which includes the Big 12 and SEC.

But as noted by USA TODAY Sports' Craig Meyer, who had Moser on his hot-seat board entering the season, the more alarming fact of his tenure in Norman has been the fact that Oklahoma has made the NCAA Tournament only once. That came in 2025, which ended with a first-round exit against UConn. Prior to Moser's arrival, the Sooners had made the NCAA Tournament in seven of the eight seasons prior.

Since joining the SEC in 2024, Oklahoma has not won more than seven conference games or finished higher than 11th in the conference standings.

Oklahoma next hosts Mississippi Valley State at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 6.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Porter Moser's hot seat gets hotter after historic Oklahoma basketball loss