NORMAN — Just a couple of days after Oklahoma's thrilling 84-82 overtime victory at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Porter Moser didn't try to mince words.

The Sooners needed that win, in more ways than one.

Instead of facing a week — which includes games at No. 8 Iowa State and home against No. 1 Houston — on a three-game losing streak, the Sooners (19-8, 7-7 Big 12) can prepare for it with some momentum. With a loss, the Sooners' resume for the postseason would've taken a huge hit. Instead, with four regular-season games to go, the Sooners are firmly in the NCAA Tournament picture, with ESPN's Joe Lunardi projecting them as a No. 8 seed on Tuesday.

While Moser has often emphasized staying even-keeled to his team after wins and losses, he acknowledged that Saturday was a win worth celebrating. Now, the hope is that it's a late-February win that fuels them heading into the final games of the season.

"Sometimes it's always hindsight to say that (wins like that can kickstart things)," Moser said on Tuesday. "But I can tell you this: big wins in February can launch confidence. They launch confidence because we all know you need to log some wins. Logging that win was really big for our conference race, for everything, for a lot of reasons.

"I think the thing that we really talked about that launches confidence is how resilient we were. Down 11, down four, down six, big shot they made after big shot, we kept answering in an awesome atmosphere. So that's what we build from. Look how resilient you were. I thought our guys in every huddle stayed calm, stayed on track with what we were doing, and that's what we were building on. Look at this time of year. Emotions are high. And we were just resilient in a tough environment on the road."

The goal now is building on that win, which starts on Wednesday at Iowa State (7 p.m. ESPN+). The Sooners beat Iowa State 71-63 at the Lloyd Noble Center nearly two months ago, but the Cyclones have been a different team since then. They currently sit in second place in the Big 12 standings behind Houston and boast a 21-6 overall record and a 10-4 record in conference play, coming in at No. 8 in the latest AP Poll.

It's going to be a challenge.

"The guys were pretty excited, but we had a day off, and we really talked about that yesterday, about putting the foot on the gas pedal and being hungrier and not letting complacency and satisfaction slip in," Moser said. "I thought we had a great practice yesterday, but we were intentional in talking about it. But man, it was a much-needed, great win in a great environment against a team that was playing really well, in a rivalry game.

"So, there were so many things that the guys were feeling great about, and they should. They should. I don’t ever want to take joy out of winning, but... we took Sunday off, and Monday was back to chasing. We've got to prepare for Iowa State.”

It's been a struggle for the true sophomore through much of conference play. In 14 conference games, Oweh is averaging 9.0 and 4.2 rebounds on 38% shooting overall, 21% from the 3-point line and 54% from the free-throw line.

The struggles continued in the first half against the Cowboys, and he entered halftime with just two points and two turnovers. Moser made a switch in the second half, inserting Rivaldo Soares into the starting lineup in Oweh's place.

Oweh responded and was huge down the stretch, scoring 14 points in the second half and overtime on seven of nine shooting.

“He wasn’t sped up," Moser said. "You probably heard me say that a lot during the first half of the season. He’s letting it come to him. He’s not forcing things, and he looked more like he was just not too sped up. Even that spin move that he made, he was deliberate with it. He wasn’t out of control. He caught it, got (the defender) on his hip, turned, (spun), and then he changed speeds. I thought he was more deliberate, not forcing things, and that’s what was really good to see.”

That's going to have to be the focus for Oweh moving forward — playing at a more deliberate pace.

With John Hugley recovering from a meniscus procedure, the Sooners have had to get creative with their big-man rotation. Not only has it meant more minutes for redshirt freshman Luke Northweather, the Sooners have also utilized lineups with Jalon Moore as a rim-rolling big man.

Despite foul trouble Moore flourished in that role against Oklahoma State, finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Moore — who is averaging 7.4 rebounds during conference play, which leads the team — has become a versatile option as the season has gone on.

Against the Cyclones, and without Hugley, Moore could again be asked to play in that role.

"It’s been good for us, Jalon at the five, for a number of reasons," Moser said. "We like that option, have that option. Sam (Godwin) in there, Luke in there. Then Jalon at the five. Since John has been out, we’ve experimented with it. we like the look. We have it if we need it. Jalon is just the best. He’s not like, 'Oh, I have to be on the perimeter.' Jalon is like, it’s wherever you need me. Jalon was a good lineup for us against Oklahoma State."

Moser also gave an update on Hugley, who has missed the last three games

"He's doing great. He's probably a little ahead of schedule if I had to say so. But we'll monitor his conditioning and everything to bring him back when he's healthy. We miss him and we look forward to getting him back. But I thought Luke was really good. His confidence looked totally different than the previous two games. We've just gotta keep building on that progress."

The act of home fans storming the court immediately following big wins has again been in the spotlight in recent days after Duke star Kyle Filipowski was injured by a fan on Saturday.

Moser initially gave his thoughts on the long-standing tradition a few weeks ago, when Iowa's Caitlin Clark had a similar dust-up with a fan on the court. His perspective has shifted a bit since then.

"I’m seeing it too often," Moser said. "So yeah, it’s got to stop. You see the entitlement of what people that storm the court can do. Poking at them… It’s just, there’s no room for it. It’s a sport that part of what makes the sport great is that it’s right on top of you. But there’s got to be a boundary now. There’s got to be a boundary. And I think you’ll see steps being taken now.

"... We’ve talked about it as coaches that some of the things that are said are crossing the line as well. I think there’s an entitlement that, unfortunately, it has to stop. There are boundaries. A player cannot feel unsafe going back to the locker room after a game. He just can’t, cannot feel unsafe trying to get back to the locker room."