Attending games half an hour away from his home base, Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser knows what a next-level basketball atmosphere can create. He’s seen it firsthand with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
No question — Oklahoma is a football school. Always has been. Always will be. They’re a collegiate blueblood with a handful of national championships and a rich past. Heisman statues decorate the outside of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
But that doesn’t mean other programs should be forgotten about. Entering his fifth season as the Sooners‘ men’s basketball head coach, Moser continued to beat on the drum that Lloyd Noble Center has plenty of room to grow with its collegiate atmosphere. Recently, he said so at the 2025 SEC Media Day.
“We need your help. We need people’s help. We have to fill Lloyd Noble. We have to get that atmosphere. We have no better example on the globe of high-level basketball and what a fanbase can do than the Thunder,” Moser said. “That atmosphere is the best in the sport of basketball. Hands down… I’ve never seen an atmosphere like a Thunder game. It makes a difference.”
Hoping to add to its momentum, Oklahoma had its best season under Moser last year. The Sooners went 20-14 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since he became the head coach. Jeremiah Fears developed into a lottery prospect in his sole season there before they lost to UConn in the Round of 64.
Even though Oklahoma is a college football school, Moser knows that there’s a lot of overlap with the Thunder fanbase. Since returning to being a title contender, OKC has seen it reestablish the daunting home crowds it flexed in the 2010s.
On their way to a Larry O’Brien trophy, the Thunder had two Game 7 blowout wins over the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers. The energy in both games has been unmatched. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren leaned into it to destroy the opponent in both now-or-never scenarios.
Moser envisions a hopeful future with Oklahoma. Inconsistent fan support has been an ongoing storyline with the Sooners’ basketball programs. It doesn’t help that its arena is antique. But he still believes there’s room for improvement, with the occasional glimpse shown.
“I’ve been in there when it’s full. Even though it’s older, even though it has its leaks, its drips, different problems — noise is noise,” Moser said. “Excitement is excitement. Fanbases are fanbases. And that’s what we’ve got to create in that arena.”
We shall see if Moser’s pleas are heard by the Sooner fanbase. Every training camp, he and his OU staff visit the Thunder to see how they prepare for the upcoming season. It gives both parties a fresh perspective and an exchange of basketball ideas. Perhaps the unquestioned support by OKC fans rattled around his brain for a bit.
Great stuff from Porter Moser today on the crowd impact at Oklahoma City Thunder games and how he feels that can be replicated with OU fans at the Lloyd Noble Center:
“We have no better example on the globe of high level basketball, and what a fan base can do, than the Thunder.… pic.twitter.com/kL492qFpol
— Josh Callaway (@JoshMCallaway) October 28, 2025