'Why not Oklahoma?': How recent lineup changes give OU a fighting chance against No. 1 Auburn

NORMAN — The Sooners are believers.

In the final moments of Oklahoma's convincing 72-62 road win over West Virginia on Wednesday, head coach Porter Moser gathered his players into a huddle and presented them with a question.

"Why not Oklahoma?" Moser asked.

The question resonated with the Sooners' players, who have been put through the toughest stretch of college basketball in the country this month.

OU's win over West Virginia snapped a four-game skid that consisted of losses to then-No. 21 Texas, TCU, then-No. 7 Kansas and then-No. 5 Baylor.

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Standing at the finish line of the grueling marathon is a road game against No. 1 Auburn on Saturday at 1 p.m., but the Sooners believe they have what it takes to pull off the upset.

"We are so capable of doing great things," senior center Tanner Groves said. "We are right there with some of the best teams in the nation... We can beat these teams. We just have to believe, stick with it, continue to preach our culture and be solid with it."

Auburn (19-1, 8-0 SEC) is loaded with elite talent.

The Tigers are led by Jabari Smith, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward who is projected to be an early lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Smith is a three-level scorer who is averaging team-highs of 15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Smith is joined in the frontcourt by Walker Kessler. The 7-foot-1 sophomore is averaging 4.1 blocks per contest, which ranks second in the country.

Despite having a pair of towering Tigers down low, Auburn is undersized in the backcourt. Its starting duo consists of 6-foot sophomore KD Johnson and 6-foot-1 senior Zep Jasper.

"The guys are excited to play," Moser said. "We know (Auburn) is one of the most talented teams in the country. There’s a reason why Auburn is No. 1. But it's a great opportunity."

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The Sooners (13-7, 3-5 Big 12) have their hands full, but recent rotational changes give them a fighting chance.

Moser opted to start Jacob Groves over Elijah Harkless at small forward during Wednesday's 72-62 win over West Virginia, and it paid off. Jacob chipped in 12 points and four rebounds in 26 minutes, and he went 2-for-4 from behind the arc.

Jacob is a 6-foot-9 junior who provides significantly more size than the 6-foot-3 Harkless, but that isn't his only contribution. The Eastern Washington transfer is also far more efficient offensively.

Jacob bests Harkless in offensive rating (103.1 to 91.1), effective field-goal percentage (52.1 to 47.4), true shooting percentage (52.8 to 49.2) and turnover rate (13.5 to 21.6) this season.

"We felt in practice he was scoring a little bit better and getting some shots to fall," Moser said of Jacob. "We just tried to shake some things up, bring some energy in, and he did that."

Harkless is still the team's go-to scorer in crunch time and should continue to close out games, but a move to the bench could be beneficial.

The senior guard would provide some much-needed experience to an OU bench that boasts three freshmen and three newcomers.

Scoring has also been an issue. OU's bench has gotten outscored 83-40 in its last four contests, but Harkless is an iso-centric scorer who thrives at bailing the offense out in a pinch.

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"(Harkless) is just a great teammate," Jacob said. "He wants to win games just as bad as anybody does, so I think he's going to do whatever that takes... We're still really going to need him down the stretch in Big 12 basketball because he's such a good asset to this team."

Another change to OU's rotation during the West Virginia game was the emergence of Marvin Johnson.

After failing to log double-digit minutes in a game all season, Johnson stuffed the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block in 21 minutes.

Playing with control remains Johnson's biggest issue, but he's a 6-foot-5 redshirt senior who boasts NBA-level size and athleticism at the two. He shined at Eastern Illinois last season, where he averaged 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

OU has rightfully prioritized the development of freshmen guards such as Bijan Cortes and C.J. Noland over Johnson this season, but he showed his value against West Virginia.

The Ardmore native's speed and ability to create for himself is unlike any other player on the Sooners' bench, which could make him a game-changer against Auburn.

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"Marvin’s been chopping wood," Moser said. "He’s building trust in doing a lot of the little things. He brings an energy. He has such athleticism."

OU is 7-16 all-time against AP No. 1-ranked teams. Its last win against a top-ranked foe came in 2002 when it earned a 64-55 victory over Kansas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament's title game.

The Sooners have lost their last nine matchups against No. 1-ranked opponents, but they believe they can end that drought in a hostile environment on Saturday.

"Our team loves the big crowd," Groves said. "Coach (Moser) always says the loudest crowd makes the quietest crickets after the game because that's what we want to hear after the game when we beat them. We feed a lot off of that."

Justin Martinez can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to The Oklahoman to stay up to date with all local sports.

OU at No. 1 Auburn

TIPOFF: 1 p.m. Saturday at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama (ESPN)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU men's basketball: Lineup changes give Sooners shot vs. No. 1 Auburn