As the calendar flips to mid-February, the Oklahoma men’s basketball team finds itself at a crossroads. Sitting at 12-12 overall and 2-9 in SEC play, the Sooners know the margin for error is razor-thin. But if you ask head coach Porter Moser, the door to the NCAA Tournament isn’t shut just yet-it’s just a matter of finding the right key.
“Our sightline can’t be anything past Georgia,” Moser said earlier this week. “As a leader, you always have to have a transfer of belief.
There’s always a path. There’s a path, and that path starts with one game at a time-and that’s Georgia.”
It’s a grounded but urgent message from Moser, and it comes at a pivotal time. OU’s record may not scream tournament team, but the metrics suggest there’s still a pulse.
Currently No. 73 in the NCAA Net Rankings, the Sooners are hovering just behind several other Power-4 programs-Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and LSU-all of whom are on the outside looking in. The good news?
Opportunity is knocking.
Their next opponent, Georgia (17-7, 5-6 SEC), checks in at No. 35 in the Net and has flirted with the AP Top 25 this season. A win over the Bulldogs would not only snap OU’s current skid-it would be a legitimate résumé booster. And with the way the remaining schedule is set up, that kind of momentum could snowball in a hurry.
Let’s not forget: the Sooners already own a marquee win over Vanderbilt, who’s 20-4, ranked No. 19 in the AP poll, and sitting at No. 15 in the Net. That’s the kind of victory selection committees notice.
But one big win won’t cut it. If OU wants to force its way into the tournament conversation, it needs to stack quality victories, and fast.
That’s exactly what Moser is preaching.
“I was happy for the result,” he said of the Vanderbilt win. “Moving forward this week, I wanted the theme not to be relief.
We can’t just be all relieved we won. No, the foot’s got to go on the gas pedal harder.”
And he’s not wrong. The path ahead is daunting, but it’s also filled with opportunity.
Every team left on the Sooners’ regular-season schedule is ranked ahead of them in the Net. That includes Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Auburn, Missouri, and Texas-six of the seven remaining opponents are currently projected to make the 68-team field in March.
In other words, OU doesn’t just have chances to improve its standing-it has no choice but to take advantage of them.
The stakes couldn’t be clearer: beat Georgia, and the dream stays alive. Lose, and the Sooners likely find themselves needing a miracle run in the SEC Tournament just to sniff an at-large bid.
Tip-off against Georgia is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center, with coverage on SEC Network. It’s not March yet, but for Oklahoma, the madness might already be starting.