Oklahoma MCBB HC Apologizes After Historic Upset Loss to East Texas A&M, 'It Was Not Good Enough'

Oklahoma men's basketball coach Porter Moser apologized to the 4,600 fans who watched his team open the 2026-27 season with a historic Monday night upset loss to East Texas A&M.

The Sooners made a late comeback push before conceding a 68-64 home loss that represented the second-biggest DI upset by spread in the last 30 years, according to ESPN research cited by ESPN's Jeff Borzello .

"The only thing I know to do is apologize to the fanbase and get better," Moser said at the beginning of his postgame press conference . "I apologize to every single person who came in.

"The things you do in a game like this in basketball that gets you beat, we did. We had 15 turnovers, 15 missed free throws, and plus-18 from the three-point line. Those are the things that get you beat in this game."

East Texas A&M grabbed the lead seven minutes in to Tuesday's season opener and never trailed again while leading by as many as 16 points in the win.

Oklahoma cut the advantage to two points in the final 30 seconds, but the Sooners missed attempts at potential go-ahead and game-tying field goals before ETAM closed out the win.

"We played on our heels all night. They got us on our heels, and we stayed on our heels," Moser said. "We tried to make a comeback, but being on our heels, and playing not to lose, not good enough. And that's on me."

Starting point guard Xzayvier Brown was sidelined with a lower-body injury from the first game of Moser's sixth season with the team. Brown is reportedly dealing with a minor knee injury, per 247Sports' Brody Lusk .

Speculation surrounded Moser's job security last season as the Sooners fell short of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in his five years in Norman.

Instead of replacing the Oklahoma head coach, however, new athletic director Roger Denny pledged to bring Moser back with more resources including increased NIL spending. CBS Sports' Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter reported the Sooners spent between $15.1 million to $17.5 million constructing this year's roster.

Denny stated in March Moser's task this season would be "to make sure that our team's performance continues to meet and exceed our resources for the program." Moser will hope a quick return for Brown and a bounce-back performance Friday against visiting Mississippi Valley State will help him start to meet that expectation this season.