The words "Oklahoma Sooners" were finally said on Selection Sunday.
The OU men's basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 and first time under head coach Porter Moser, who likely saved his job with the Sooners' late-season run.
The Sooners (20-13) on Sunday were announced as the 9-seed in the West Region. They will play 8-seed and two-time defending national champion UConn in the first round on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. If OU wins, it would get the winner of 1-seed and SEC champion Florida or, less likely, 16-seed Norfolk State in the second round on Sunday.
THE BRACKET 🙌#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fo6lA8hJ7g
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2025
The Sooners have been the last team out of the field 68 two of the last three years under Moser. However, OU even being considered a snub, let alone actually getting to dance, seemed like a dream only a few weeks ago.
OU won three games in a row within a week, though, and its loaded schedule and seven Quadrant 1 wins ultimately prevailed. So as their first-ever SEC schedule seemed to beat the Sooners down, it actually brought them up into the NCAA Tournament after OU did just enough down the stretch.
The SEC had 14 teams make the NCAA Tournament, which is three more than a conference has ever had, beating the Big East's record of 11 in 2011.
The Sooners' three-game winning streak included a top-15 upset, a road win over a rival and their first victory in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.
First, OU took down then-No. 15 Missouri 96-84 on March 5 at Lloyd Noble center. That upset reignited some hope for Sooner Nation and made the Sooners' NCAA Tournament chances seem at least possible.
Three days later, OU went to Austin to play Texas for what seemed like a play-in game for the regular-season finale. ESPN's Joe Lunardi said the winner of the Red River Rivalry had a solid chance of sneaking into the NCAA Tournament, but at least one more win in SEC Men's Basketball Tournament would punch their ticket.
After beating Texas 76-72, the Sooners started their first-ever SEC tournament with an 81-75 win over Georgia on Wednesday to all but solidify getting their named called on Sunday.
Despite that loss, Texas still got into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last four in after winning two games in the SEC tournament.
OU lost an 85-84 thriller to Kentucky in the second round on Thursday night to end its winning streak, but not before doing enough to make sure that loss didn't conclude the season and the Moser era at OU.