OU head coach Porter Moser exorcises Selection Sunday demons

It took a full year for OU basketball for head coach Porter Moser. Time has not eased the pain of last year’s Selection Sunday. But it proved to be another catalyst for the season that just transpired.

Of all the gut-punches the Sooners suffered during a wild 2024-25 season, nothing still compares to that First Team Out feeling 52 weeks ago.

“That Sunday was probably — of my professional career, was one of the worst days to where you’re feeling all — the whole year you’re in,” said Moser at SEC media days in October. “But my faith tells you a lot about perseverance. What doesn’t kill you, doesn’t break you, makes you stronger.

“So we share that day with Sam Godwin and Jalon Moore, and we talk about that a lot. That was one of the hardest days we went through. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about that Selection Sunday.”

It became the rallying cry. Get Moore, get Godwin, get OU back to the NCAA Tournament. And honestly, get Moser to the dance, too. Four seasons without a bid would have been a difficult pill for any Sooner fan to swallow.

Nobody had to go through it this time around.

“Last year, it hurt,” Moore said. “It hurt so much to not see our names called. Just having a chip on our shoulder, going through the whole season. Learning from what we did in the past. It was amazing just to have this moment to be able to share this moment with the guys. Coach Moser, especially, that day was a hard day for both of us. To have this moment for the both of us is special.”

The moment, though, definitely took a while. One bracket announced after another, nothing. It took until the fourth and final bracket was announced.

There it was. No. 8 Connecticut vs. No. 9 Oklahoma. Your reward? A date with the two-time defending national champions Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.

And if you win that one? Most likely No. 1 Florida. The Gators smoked OU in Gainesville last month.

So the road is not exactly the easiest. But as Moser loved to say, there is a path. The path remains, and the dance has just begun.

“That was a cruel joke waiting until the end,” Moser said. “But so excited. So excited for our guys and the emotions of seeing your name come up. Of what these past couple of months since the season started, of the resiliency of these guys to have that moment.

“And I looked back. I was sharing it with some of the guys that were here and some of the coaches, 365 days ago, I want to thank our savior, Lord Jesus Christ, for his faith. I think the thing with that is you go through life and the disappointment you had, and when you have faith in your life and you have people in your life you can come through so much. And this year, having to lose people in the portal and rebuild the team back up and then implement your system with a whole new team. Start out 13-0 and all of a sudden go 0-4 and have the trials and tribulations and the ups and downs that we had, to have the resiliency to come on top to have this day, man.”

Man, indeed. Moser, though, has the monkey off his back regarding his time at OU and the NCAA Tournament.