Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser had a flashback when he saw his team selected for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Senior Jalon Moore went through the pre-NBA Draft process after last season, shortly after the Sooners were officially listed as the first team out of the NCAA Tournament. Moore was genuinely interested in seeing how he would fare as a prospect, but he always had an eye on returning to Norman for his senior season.

As Moser saw the Sooners selected as a No. 9 seed, he remembered a moment he had with Moore in Miami, Florida last season.

"I went down to watch when he put his name for the draft and he was doing workouts, and we sat there and he said, ‘Coach I’m coming back but we’ve got to get into the NCAA Tournament,'" Moser recalled on Sunday. "I’m like, ‘Amen. Amen.’ And I said we’re gonna do it. We just both said we’re gonna do it.

"It had to feel like Groundhog Day because I was coming in the locker room after tough losses and I’m like, you guys, there’s still a path. There’s still a path. We’ve just got to keep fighting and play better basketball and these guys believed and we’re playing our best basketball. We’re playing our best basketball. We’re playing the right way. And excited to go compete in this tournament."

While the Sooners are largely a new team compared to last season, there was a team goal this season: To help Moore and Sam Godwin — two seniors who experienced the heartbreak of last season — make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their careers.

However, there was serious doubt that the Sooners could accomplish that goal, particularly during the middle of SEC play. Despite finishing 13-0 in non-conference play, the Sooners lost 10 of their first 13 conference games to fall to 16-10. They lost five consecutive games in the middle of February, which included a crushing home loss to LSU despite the Sooners holding a 13-point lead in the second half.

The key to fighting through it? Staying connected. The Sooners won four of their final seven games, which included an 81-75 win over Georgia in the SEC Tournament that essentially sealed their Tournament bid.

"We have to be resilient," Moore said. "Through it all, we have to stay connected. The most connected team always wins. That’s what we were able to do the last weeks of the season."

Despite the ups and downs, Moore was huge in helping the team stay together. He also posted his career-best season, leading the team in both scoring (15.1 points) and rebounds (5.7) during conference play. Before suffering an injury in the penultimate game against Missouri, Godwin had been huge down the stretch. He finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Mississippi State, and he scored 12 points in the first half against Missouri.

Playing for those two guys was a mission statement down the stretch.

"That was something that we talked about in the locker room," OU guard Jeremiah Fears said. "Just being able to send the seniors out the right way and them being able to go out there and compete and hopefully make it to the Final Four and win a national championship."

The Sooners remain hopeful that Godwin will be available for Friday's game against No. 8-seeded Connecticut and potentially beyond. Godwin's missed the last three games with a knee injury, but he's continued to rehab as he works to be back for a Tournament run. Despite being out, he's remained engaged and active on the bench.

And, of course, he was sitting next to Moore on Sunday as the Sooners celebrated their spot in the Big Dance. It was a big moment for the senior duo.

"That’s my brother, man," Moore said. "Just to see what we had been through in the summer and last year and going through this year. It was special to share that moment with him. That’s my brother. Glad we got to share that moment."

The Sooners open the tournament against UConn at 8:25 p.m. CT Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina (TNT).

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