Twenty-one former OU and OSU basketball players are playing major college basketball this season. Only two — Avery Anderson at Texas Christian and Moussa Cisse at Ole Miss — are playing in a power-conference league. Most of the transfers have not found great success at their new homes. Here are the 21, ranked by success this season.

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Twenty-one former OU and OSU basketball players are playing major college basketball this season. Only four — Jacob Groves at Virginia, Avery Anderson at Texas Christian, Moussa Cisse at Ole Miss and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe — are playing in a power-conference league.

Of course, power-conference status is not the ultimate authority on talent. But where a player goes is at least one indicator of a player’s standing on the open market.

And neither the Cowboys nor the Sooners have been losing players to marquee schools. Nothing like Brady Manek going to North Carolina or De’Vion Harmon going to Oregon, a few years back.

And still, the OU and OSU expatriates are not tearing things up on the mid-major front. Most of the transfers have not found great success at their new homes. Here are the 21, ranked by success this season.

And here’s a teaser: You won’t believe who ranks No. 1:

21. Rick Issanza, OU/Loyola Marymount: Another Sooner center who played little, then went West. Issanza played a lot last season, but a back injury ended his final season after 10 games, with averages of 1.7  points and 3.9 rebounds.

20. Benny Schroder, OU/George Washington: Schroder barely played as a freshman at OU last season and is playing sparingly for the Revolutionaries —11 minutes and 4.3 points a game

19. Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe, OSU/Georgia: The power forward showed promise as a Cowboy in 2020-21 but fell off as a sophomore and transferred to Georgia. Same story with the Bulldogs. Alexander-Moncrieffe started 26 games last season but has played sparingly in this injury-marred season, averaging 10.0 minutes and 1.1 points

18. Trey Phipps, OU/Oral Roberts: The sharpshooter played just 16 games and 120 minutes total as a 2020-21 OU freshman, but his playing time at ORU is decreasing. This season, Phipps has averaged 12.9 minutes and 2.8 points a game

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17. Josh O’Garra, OU/Texas State: The wing has bounced from OU in 2020-21 to San Jose State to Colby Community College to Texas State, where he’s played 13.9 minutes and 4.6 points a game

16. Bijan Cortes, OU/Wichita State: The point guard was a Lon Kruger recruit but played instead for Porter Moser for two years. Cortes has started 13 of 18 games for the Shockers; he’s averaging 18.0 minutes and 3.6 points a game

15. Woody Newton, OSU/George Mason: The tall wing didn’t have much of an impact in two years as a Cowboy, and he has an auxiliary role with the Patriots. Newton has played 28 games, with one start, averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds.

14. Akolda Mawein, OU/Sacramento State: The junior-college transfer center played little with the Sooners in 2021-22 but this season has started 20 of 29 games for Sac State, averaging 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds

13. Jalen Hill, OU/Nevada-Las Vegas: The versatile forward spent four valuable seasons with the Sooners, but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury after seven games with the Rebels, for whom he averaged 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds

12. Rondel Walker, OSU/North Texas: A fan favorite as a Cowboy sparkplug from 2020-22, but he was a down-the-line player at TCU last season and has found more value at UNT. He’s started seven of 17 games and is averaging 27.6 minutes, 4.1 points and 1.1 steals per game.

11. Donovan Williams, OSU/Pacific: Williams played sparingly in two Cowboy seasons, 2020-22, but has a found home in Stockton, California. He’s been a two-year starter at Pacific and this season is averaging 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

10. C.J. Noland, OU/North Texas: Noland averaged 13.5 minutes a game in his two Sooner seasons but transferred to North Texas last year and has started 20 of 22 games. He’s averaging 9.9 points a game.

A school in @TroyAikman's hometown won a basketball state championship with four brothers — yes, four — in the starting lineup.

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9. Jacob Groves, OU/Virginia: The forward who played a bunch for Porter Moser’s first two teams has started 12 of 29 games for the Cavaliers and has averaged 7.4 points and 19.6 minutes a game.

8. Moussa Cisse, OSU/Ole Miss: The difference-maker as a rim-protecting center spent the previous two seasons as a Cowboy has started 14 of 22 games for the Rebels, and his production is a little down — 4.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game.

7. Tyreek Smith, OSU/Southern Methodist: A hard-working center for the Cowboys the last two seasons, Smith at SMU has played well. He’s started eight of 28 games, averaging 8.1 points and 5.6 rebounds.

6. Avery Anderson, OSU/Texas Christian: The four-year Cowboy point guard has been a nice addition for the Horned Frogs. He’s started 14 of 28 games and averaged 8.6 points and 3.6 assists.

5. Victor Iwuakor, OU/Southern Miss: A promising inside role player at OU from 2019-21, Iwuakor transferred to Nevada-Las Vegas but now is at Southern, where he’s made 25 starts and is averaging 9.5 points and 6.1 rebounds.

4. Keylan Boone, OSU/UNLV: Played two years as a Cowboy with his twin brother, then went to Pacific. But now Keylan has reunited with Kalib and started 14 of 20 games, averaging 11.8 points and 6.2 rebounds.

3. Joe Bamisile, OU/Virginia Commonwealth: The swingman was disappointing for the Sooners last season, after transferring from George Washington, but is quite valuable for VCU. He’s coming off the bench but averaging 13.9 points a game.

2. Kalib Boone, OSU/Nevada-Las Vegas: The often-electric, four-year Cowboy center is producing still. At UNLV, Boone has made 22 starts and averaged 12.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

1. Alston Mason, OU/Missouri State: Mason played little as a Sooner freshman two years ago but has started 27 games for the Bears this season and averaged 18.1 points, third-best in the Missouri Valley.

Missouri State junior Alston Mason drives downcourt as the Bears take on the Bradley Braves at Great Southern Bank Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA Today Network)