The Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team made it into the March Madness tournament as the ninth seed in the Western region, announced on Selection Sunday. The Sooners will face UConn in the first round on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This marks the first time they’ve made it since 2021 and the first time under head coach Porter Moser. OU went 20-13 in its inaugural season in the SEC, earning a bid after a strong end to the season.
The Sooners got off to a hot start at the beginning of the 2024 season, winning 13 straight games. After a series of tough losses in conference play, they needed strong wins in order to prove they deserved a bid in the tournament. They did just that as they won their final three games against Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. Oklahoma carried the momentum from its end of the regular season to the SEC tournament, defeating Georgia 81-75 and suffering a close loss to Kentucky 85-84.
UConn has won the NCAA tournament in back-to-back years under head coach Dan Hurley, but dropping from a No. 1 seed in 2024 to a current No. 8 seed shows that the Huskies may not have their usual dominant run this year. Moser, like Hurley, is aiming to show he can return to his successes of the past. Moser led Loyola-Chicago to two Sweet Sixteen berths and the 2018 Final Four.
If OU can find a way to beat UConn, the defending champion, it may have to face the SEC champion, No. 1 seed Florida. Oklahoma lost 85-63 against the Gators on Feb. 18, the fifth in a string of tough conference losses.
The bid for the 2025 tournament brings a boost to the program and to Moser's resume after the Sooners suffered heartbreak last year on Selection Sunday as the first team out. They were able to respond and make a statement during the inaugural year in their new conference behind the talents of SEC All-Freshman team member Jeremiah Fears, and Small Forward of the Year finalist Jalon Moore.
Oklahoma will take on No. 8 UConn on Friday, March 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
