Porter Moser emphatic on Oklahoma's NCAA Tournament resume: 'We are a part of it'

The Oklahoma Sooners have had an inconsistent first season in the SEC. Despite that, the SEC is such a strong conference that head coach Porter Moser isn’t worried about where the Sooners stand in the NCAA Tournament field, regardless of results in their conference tournament.

Oklahoma opened the SEC Tournament with a win over Georgia. After that game, Moser was asked if he felt more confident about making the NCAA Tournament than he had before, but he was emphatic that the Sooners were fine even before the game. It, as he insisted, goes back to a strong resume.

“We are a part of it,” Porter Moser said. “I thought we were above the bubble going into this game. What the conference is, it’s unprecedented. It’s unprecedented of what this league is, what you have to do night in and night out.”

In the latest bracketology from ESPN, Oklahoma is listed as being one of the Last Four Byes into the NCAA Tournament. That amounts to an 11 seed. In On3’s latest bracketology, they similarly are among the Last Four Byes and set to receive an 11 seed. That comes in a season where the Sooners have played 17 Quad 1 games, going 7-10 in those matchups. They’re also 4-1 against Quad 2 opponents.

With that confidence that Oklahoma is in the NCAA Tournament field, Porter Moser can turn his attention to the SEC Tournament. There, the Sooners don’t need to pad their resume. They just want to do what they can to win the tournament.

“For us, we want to just win and advance in this SEC Tournament. Then we’re going to get after it. But we are a part of it. No question. With as many Quad 1 wins that we’ve had, with the resiliency we’ve had. People talk about us playing the best basketball down the stretch in our last six games. Another Quad 1 win tonight. No, we are a part of it. We’re excited to be part of it, but we’re also excited to advance in this tournament.”

Porter Moser and Oklahoma are preparing to take on Kentucky in their next SEC Tournament game. The Sooners enter that game as a 6.5-point underdog. That’s for a neutral site game that will be played in Nashville. The winner will then survive and advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played on Friday. Alabama will be rested and waiting for the winner of the Oklahoma vs. Kentucky game.