When Oklahoma's Porter Moser compliments another team, you know he must mean it. The 56-year-old coach spent several years going up against the likes of Houston, Iowa State and Kansas in the Big 12 before the Sooners joined the SEC prior to this season.
After his team got routed by No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday evening in Neville Arena, Moser noticed what every other coach that has faced the Tigers this season has noted.
"They really got a complete team, and I mean they really do," the Oklahoma coach said.
Moser had just seen his team get beaten in all aspects of the game, with five Tigers finishing in double digits in points, seven different Auburn players finishing with at least one assist and a block party that included 11 rejections in the 98-70 Oklahoma loss. As Moser pointed out, the Tigers can beat you in all different ways, whether it is hot shooting from the outside (Denver Jones finished 3-for-3 from three-point range), playing tough defense with their lengthy guards and the inside duo of Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.
"I mean, they play really hard and physical," he said. "Cardwell is so big and he's so active on the glass. It's just two of them. And then they got shooters everywhere."
Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears had a hard time going up against Auburn's physical guards, finishing 1-of-8 from the floor, with his only basket coming from behind the arc and scoring just 10 points after coming into the matchup averaging 16.1 points per game. So did Jalon Moore, who leads the Sooners with 18.2 points per outing.
"They're competitive defensively and physical defensively," Moswer said of Auburn's defense. "And if you do get by 'em, they don't stop. And we didn't play off two feet well enough. I mean, they just came and beat it against the backboard and you got to play off two feet. You got to show it to 'em, and they just, but what makes 'em so good defensively is they're long athletic."