What to make of March Madness: Catching up with the Oklahoma Sooners at the NCAA Tournament

Oklahoma will face the back-to-back defending national champions in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. UConn and head coach Dan Hurley look to keep their postseason winning streak alive against the Sooners. Ahead of OU's first tournament game in four years, Griffin Media's Chris Williams caught up with some of the Sooners to talk March Madness and their opponent, UConn.

Q: What's the feeling around March Madness? Just being here, being a part of it for the first time?

Dayton Forsythe: "It's a lot of excitement. Obviously, you grow up dreaming it — watching these games the first round. There's so many games to watch today, me and my brothers and my dad, we would all sit at home. We would watch as many games as we could, root for underdog. So special. I'm excited."

Jalon Moore: "Just being here is a blessing, and being able to be with my teammates and the guys, and then it's a blessing just to be here. So yeah, I mean, it feels real for sure."

Sam Godwin: "It was a huge excitement for me and Jalon, especially with what we went through last year. And it kind of teased us a little bit, made us wait till the last bracket came out. So we're just sitting there anxious and anxious seeing all teams go by. And I was like, ‘No way this happens again.’ But yeah, to finally see our neighborhood is awesome. It's kind of what we've been working for all year. So it's a super special moment."

Jeremiah Fears: "Feels great just walking in this locker room, just looking around. We've all grew up watching this, dream to play here one day, and it's finally our time. So just excited to be here."

Q: Do you have a favorite memory growing up watching March Madness?

Dayton Forsythe: "Overall, just getting to watch the games with my family, the excitement of getting to watch underdogs beat the higher-seeded team is awesome. There's a lot of games that I can name."

Jalon Moore: "My favorite memory is just watching with my granddad, just us watching the tournaments. As soon as March came, we always definitely watched the first round, second round, especially the Final Four. So my favorite memories is watching the tournament with my granddad."

Sam Godwin: "Probably Buddy Hield in that run. He made, like, what was that? 2016 or something, right? That was a fun run. Just watching Buddy."

Jeremiah Fears: "I enjoy all the Cinderella stories and lot of the upsets and stuff like that, so just growing up and being able to experience something like that was great. And hopefully we're next."

Q: How special would it be to add a game like this to your resume?

Dayton Forsythe: "Yeah, super special being able to represent my family and Dale at this stage. It would be awesome."

Jalon Moore: "Man, it's a blessing. It's a blessing from God, just to be able to get to this point, get to get here. Man, it's a blessing just that they were also going to be able to come out and see me play. My granddad always told me that I'm gonna get there one day and just to see that I'm here. Man, it's a blessing."

Sam Godwin: "Yeah, it's a super special moment. It's kind of what we've been working for all year."

Jeremiah Fears: "Yeah, like I said, it'll be super special getting to represent Dale — small school, Dale — and my family on this stage for Oklahoma, where I'm from. So I'm super excited."

Q: What have you seen from this UConn team?

Dayton Forsythe: "Yeah, they're obviously the two-time defending national champs, for a reason. So they're extremely well coached, they're extremely talented. It'll be, it'll be fun to get to play. I'm excited."

Jalon Moore: "They got a great offense, great players, and they're a very physical team, and they're very disciplined team, and we're going to be ready for them tomorrow."

Sam Godwin: "Oh, I don't even want to comment on a game plan for them and keep that within the team. We're gonna play as hard as we can and hopefully get the win."

Jeremiah Fears: "Really move the ball really well. They're really well coached, and they play hard throughout the whole game."

Q: What has Porter Moser told you about how to handle this atmosphere?

Dayton Forsythe: "You just gotta take it one game at a time. You can't look forward or take anything for granted, because you never know when you're gonna get back here. Obviously, being here with these guys, that's what we've gone through this season. It'll be special. It'll be fun. I'm excited to see what we can do."

Jalon Moore: "Just stay connected. Stay connected, continue to be the team that we are, and enjoy the experience and enjoy these memories with each other. The fun in this is winning, winning and advancing. And that's our goal, and that's what we're here to do."

Sam Godwin: "Porter, right after we got in, like, we celebrated for like, five minutes, he came back. He's always gonna be a lot of work. It's gonna be hard this week. But he's like, I mean, he's been here before, he's made a run in the tournament. So he's got us ready."

Jeremiah Fears: "Really, just, everybody is going to go out there and give it their all because they know it could be their last time playing together. And for seniors, it could be their last time playing basketball, college basketball, and playing on this big stage."

Q: How do you flip the mindset from the excitement of getting in to the chasing mentality?

Sam Godwin: "Yeah, I mean, it wasn't that hard. Porter, right after we got in, like, we celebrated for like, five minutes, he came back. He's always gonna be a lot of work. It's gonna be hard this week. But he's like, I mean, he's been here before, he's made a run in the tournament. So he's like, he's got us ready."

Jeremiah Fears: "Really, just enjoying the moment and taking it day by day and enjoying the process. It's gonna be a long process, obviously. So just to try and enjoy it day by day and continue to look at the good and the positive throughout every situation."

Q: What’s the key to getting a win against UConn?

Jalon Moore: "Don't break. They run a lot of sets and solid sets, so we're going to have to guard the full 30 seconds. Because, I mean, they run out of play, so just continue. Don't break and stay connected, because fall asleep just for a second, they gotta play to probably give them a bucket."

Sam Godwin: "We're gonna play as hard as we can and hopefully get the win."

Q: What are you most looking forward to about this whole journey?

Jalon Moore: "Just experience, experience to have my brothers, man, to be here, to go out there and compete and win with them, man, and win and advance. That's what we're here to do. But that's the experience — to experience these things with my brothers."

Jeremiah Fears: "Just to enjoy it and try not to get too high and too low throughout the process."

Q: How surreal is it to now be at the tournament in an OU uniform?

Dayton Forsythe: "Obviously, Buddy was super fun to watch. We watched the game. Trae (Young) got to play in March Madness. But just growing up in Oklahoma, one wanting to be on that stage, and now I'm here playing for Oklahoma and March Madness. It's special."

Sam Godwin: "Yes, watching from Oklahoma, just watching them play, and now being here myself. So it's a dream come true."

Jeremiah Fears: "Just excited to be here."

Q: Any nerves going into a big moment like this?

Jeremiah Fears: "Really just taking it day by day and something I live for, and I've always wanted to kind of be on this big stage, so just enjoying it."