NORMAN — All of OU men’s basketball’s nonconference matchups against power teams will be played away from Lloyd Noble Center this season and mostly at neutral sites.
The Soonersfell to Gonzaga, 83-68, last weekend in Spokane, Washington. This Saturday, OU travels to face Nebraska at 6 p.m. inside Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Why?
“NIL money,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said.
OU will face Marquette on Nov. 28 in Chicago, Arizona State on Dec. 6 in Phoenix and Oklahoma State on Dec. 13 in Oklahoma City in neutral site games. The Sooners will also visit Wake Forest on Dec. 2.
“You get a situation for buy games, you’ve got to do it,” Moser said. “It’s a chance to play good games that are going to be resume games, but also you get contracted to do stuff that’s going to help your NIL.”
Moser hasn’t shied away from his stance on NIL the past couple of seasons. He’s fully leaned into it, which is a significant reason OU was able to land the type of transfer portal talent it did this offseason.
While OU has made massive strides in the NIL game for basketball — including receiving help from former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and former Philadelphia Eagles executive Jake Rosenberg — Moser is relentless about the need to continue improving in the space.
“I felt that I had to (schedule these games),” Moser said.
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
OU vs. Nebraska
TIP-OFF: 6 p.m. Saturday in Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Big Ten Network)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why OU basketball prioritized neutral site games for NIL purposes
