OU basketball 'path' to redemption keeps rolling along as Sooners try to make NCAA bracket

NASHVILLE — Wander into the Oklahoma men’s basketball team’s locker room here inside Bridgestone Arena and you’ll find a band of brothers.

The steady, focused veterans who are already looking to the next task at hand. The youthful joy of the underclassmen conducting mock interviews as reporters gather nuggets. Only two players on the roster who saw meaningful action last season. Four starters who came from different schools. A couple of sixth-year guards. A Russian who joined the team midseason.

What transpired inside this beacon of downtown Nashville on Broadway, just steps from the rowdy, neon light crowds of Tootsies Orchid Lounge and Robert’s Western World was unimaginable a little over a month ago. These Sooners had lost nine straight games. Following its eighth consecutive loss, “fire Moser” chants, referring to OU’s coach, rang throughout Lloyd Noble Center where the team plays its home games.

“Every day, even through the losing streak … Everybody on the team came in and practiced and has been willing to come and work every single day,” Sooners forward Tae Davis said. “We just stayed with it every day.”

With its 86-74 win over South Carolina in the first round of the SEC tournament Wednesday night, the same OU squad — built by nine newcomers with fewer resources dedicated to hoops than most in this league — has won five straight and seven of its last nine.

More: OU basketball roars past South Carolina in SEC Tournament opener to keep NCAA hopes alive

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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 11: Derrion Reid #35 of the Oklahoma Sooners shoots the ball against Myles Stute #10 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half in the first round of the 2026 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 11, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)

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The biggest difference over the past few weeks? The Sooners have made a collective choice to come together defensively. Their coach, Porter Moser — a former walk-on at Creighton who has built his career around being a standard-setter — beat the drum over and over again.

“There’s a path, there’s a path,” he’d repeat ad nauseam.

Moser has been the subject of intense scrutiny in Norman all season. It’s been thought for months now that missing the tournament for the fourth time in five seasons would mean new athletic director Roger Denny would be forced to fire him. Things have gotten more interesting during this stretch. There’s no doubt Denny, who was in attendance Wednesday night alongside university president Joe Harroz, will have decisions to make.

But for now, that path seemingly only the glass-half-full Moser foresaw has rapidly come into view for the rest of us.

Around 10 minutes before tipoff, comments from ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi made the rounds on social media. OU needs to win three games this week, he said, for there to even be a conversation including the Sooners and the NCAA Tournament.

Since OU recorded another win, Lunardi has yet to update his bracket projections. But, several teams that entered this week on the bubble — Arizona State, California, Cincinnati, Indiana, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Virginia Tech and West Virginia — have all lost.

“We've had this mantra” Moser said. “We just felt there was a path. We got to keep believing and staying with each other.

“When you get a group of people all believing in a path, even when other people don't see the path. That's life, man.”

More: What has led to OU basketball's resurgence entering SEC Tournament?

That resilience came into focus when the Sooners trailed the Gamecocks by 13 with 7:03 remaining in the first half.

South Carolina, the conference’s worst 3-point shooting team during the regular season, was shooting 70% from 3-point range.

Old habits resurfaced for OU and its defensive discipline crumbled, echoing early-season lapses.

“We had to come together on the defensive end,” Davis said. “We had that camaraderie and connectivity on defense to will ourselves back into the game.”

The Sooners outscored the Gamecocks 19-6 the rest of the half and led a 9-2 run to begin the second. From the 6:19 mark of the first half to the 6:14 mark of the second, OU outscored South Carolina 53-24.

Wednesday's game marked the 10th in the last 15 for the Sooners to hold a double-digit lead. They have led for at least 20 minutes in 10 of the last 13 outings (22:24 against the Gamecocks).

“When you start losing games, you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror,” OU point guard Xzayvier Brown told The Oklahoman . “We saw we weren't getting stops in so many close games. For the most part, we feel like we've been in every game. We just got to get stopped.

“We flipped that switch and you can see the results.”

With their backs against the wall, on a night they desperately needed a win to keep their season alive the Sooners got the best out of their top contributors. Sharpshooter Nijel Pack led the way with 24 points. Derrion Reid added 20. Davis finished with 18 in one of his best games in an OU uniform.

For Pack — who strolled into the venue not knowing if it was his final collegiate game after a whirlwind career — this run has been special. Despite only knowing his teammates for less than a year, they’ve forged a unique bond through hardship.

More: Jason Witten found right fit with OU football to start his college coaching career

“It’s meant everything, especially for our seniors,”  Pack told The Oklahoman . “To be able to change this around at this time and continue to fight for our season — it’s meant everything to us. We believed when there was nothing there for us and now we're playing really, really well.

“We know we still got some work to do, man. We want to win this whole thing, so we're going to take it one game at a time, but we're really excited to be in this position.”

The Sooners aren’t getting ahead of themselves, though.

They’re continuing to take it one game at a time, beginning back here at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night against Texas A&M. The Aggies are safely a tourney team and previously beat OU twice this season.

“We're going to have to get back at some recovery because we know the pace of the game tomorrow,” Moser said. “It's going to be pressing, fast paced. We've got to get everybody ready for that transition D and be able to handle their press.”

On the outside, the Sooners are still considered a longshot to go dancing.

But back behind the black curtains inside this arena’s tunnel, you wouldn’t know.

Colton Sulley covers the  Oklahoma Sooners  for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball rises on NCAA bracket bubble with South Carolina ouster