NORMAN — Oklahoma was essentially left for dead heading into the final couple weeks of the regular season. The Sooners had lost five straight games (four of them by 18 points or more) and had dropped to 3-10 in SEC play as they collapsed into the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Instead, the Sooners started to play as well as they have all season.

They ended the regular season with a 3-2 mark over their final five games, with wins over then-No. 12 Mississippi State, then-No. 15 Missouri and at Texas. Their two losses? One-possession losses against Kentucky and at Ole Miss that came down to the wire.

Though it's not a done deal, the Sooners' chances of making the NCAA Tournament are pretty good heading into the SEC Tournament this week. Most projections have the Sooners projected as an 11 seed; ESPN's bubble watch has OU's chances at 72% to make the tournament.

"Two, three weeks ago we were talking about our mission statement," OU coach Porter Moser told OUInsider on Monday. "We want to play better basketball to win games to get in the NCAA Tournament. You look at this five game stretch, we're 3-2, and the two losses are against ranked teams right at the buzzer, you know? So we've played really good basketball. We're playing together, we're playing tough, we're believing, and I think that's what you want. You want to be playing your best basketball in February and March."

The Sooners are still not a shoe-in for the NCAA Tournament, but that optimism is a good sign as OU opens the SEC tournament against 11-seeded Georgia at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (SECN). The Bulldogs narrowly beat the Sooners, 72-62, back in January behind 37 free-throw attempts and a poor offensive showing by OU.

But the stakes are high, as the Sooners would almost certainly cement their NCAA Tournament chances with a win. And they head into the conference tournament with renewed confidence.

"We’re going to weather the storm," Jalon Moore said. "And we’re always going to stay together regardless if it’s a win, loss or whatever anyone says. We’re always going to come in as a hard-working team and as the most connected team. That’s what I learned about this team, that we’re the most connected and resilient team."

Godwin, who suffered an MCL injury in the home finale against Missouri, missed the Texas game and his status is unclear for the SEC Tournament.

However, the MRI results indicated that Godwin doesn't need surgery, and there remains some hope that he could return before the end of the year.

"He's doing good. Every day seems to progress," Moser said. "We'll see how it goes today. I know we play Wednesday night. He's doing good. He was hootin' and hollerin' on the bench at Texas. He's ready. It's moving the right direction."

Fears was the only OU representative on the All-SEC teams, joining Texas' Tre Johnson, Georgia's Asa Newell, Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford and Alabama's Labaron Philon on the conference's freshman team.

Fears — who averaged 14.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists during conference play — elevated his production down the stretch. That included a 31-point, five-assist performance against Missouri and a 27-point, 10-assist performance against Mississippi State.

Fears is feeling pretty confident ahead of the SEC Tournament.

"We are actually playing our best brand of basketball, and we have a lot of confidence coming into this tournament, playing every single team," Fears said. "(We've played against everybody) kind of have a feel for everybody. So, it’s really important that we have confidence and believe in each other, and we’re looking forward to coming out on top."

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