Porter Moser reflects on NCAA Tournament snub, identifies players to watch in 2024-25

It was a disappointing end to the season for Porter Moser and Oklahoma basketball this past March. The Sooners narrowly missed out on a chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament, coming in as the first team out on Selection Sunday.

This came on the heels of Oklahoma losing six of its final eight games of the season. The Sooners had at one point been ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP poll and finished the year with a 20-12 record. Still, it was their late collapse that ultimately kept them from competing in March Madness.

That being the case, Moser believes the progress was encouraging coming off of a 15-17 record the previous season. He also hopes that the pain of missing the tournament can in turn serve as motivation for the team heading into the SEC next season.

“I always have such high standards,” the coach said on SEC Network. “This year we made such a jump. My faith says, ‘What doesn’t break you makes you stronger.’ This whole year we were having a terrific year at 20 wins and all of a sudden we had some injuries and the last day, we were the first one out. That was a gut punch, but it’s gotta fuel you. We know how good the league and we hope there’s gonna be many teams taken.”

Moser went on to identify Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin as two players whom he expects to be leaders this season. Both were members of the team this past year and Godwin has been with the Sooners since Moser’s second season.

A local product from Southmoore High School, Godwin averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 rebounds in a starting role this past season. Those numbers were both career bests and he figures to take an even bigger jump in his fifth year.

As for Moore, he is the Sooners’ leading returning scorer with 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Both players have taken big steps forward this offseason and their work ethic has Moser optimistic for the coming year.

“We have some guys like Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin, guys who were sitting next to me when that bracket came up,” the coach said. “How hard we worked from the year before in the offseason building our culture to be where we were to be the last ones out. That only has to fuel you this offseason. Those guys are off to a great spring and summer in terms of how hard they’re working.”

Hopefully, that hard work pays off and leads to better results in 2024-25 for Porter Moser and Oklahoma.