NORMAN — The NCAA Tournament seemed like a longshot for the OU women’s basketball program in late December.

Replacing three critical players who helped Jennie Baranczyk establish her program’s culture, the Sooners were foundering.

But after winning the Big 12 regular-season title, the only question for OU heading into Selection Sunday was the Sooners’ opponent and what seed they would earn.

OU found that out Sunday, when the bracket revealed the Sooners as a No. 5 seed in Region 1.

They will take on No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast (29-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana. The Sooners would face the winner of No. 4 Indiana and No. 13 Fairfield in the second round. Top-seeded South Carolina would likely await in a Sweet 16 game in Albany, New York.

It’s the second consecutive season the Sooners (22-9) are a No. 5 seed.

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Last season, they beat No. 12 Portland 85-63 in the first round before falling to No. 4 UCLA 82-73 in the second round.

It was the second consecutive season OU’s season ended in the second round.

The Sooners haven’t advanced out of the tournament’s opening weekend since 2013.

OU entered the Big 12 Tournament with a chance to position itself as a top four seed, which would set them up to potentially host the tournament’s first two rounds.

But after beating TCU in the quarterfinals, the Sooners fell to Iowa State, 85-68, in the semifinals.

Before that game, Baranczyk informed her team the Sooners wouldn’t be able to host in the tournament regardless of seed.

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OU women’s gymnastics hosting the Big 12 championships Saturday left the Sooners scrambling for alternative options should they be selected to host.

But with none forthcoming, it became clear the Sooners would be hitting the road regardless.

“I’m excited to see what we continue to do,” Baranczyk said last week at the Big 12 Tournament. “Because two months ago we didn’t have a future in postseason. Now we do.”

OU entered the season in a bit of a rebuild after losing Ana Llanusa, Taylor Robertson and Madi Williams — a combined 38.8 points per game — from last season’s roster.

Then just before the season began, senior forward Liz Scott suffered a setback that required season-ending surgery.

So Baranczyk expected some rocky times early in the season.

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They came in waves beginning in late November, with a loss to Princeton kicking off a stretch where the Sooners dropped five of six.

The low point came Dec. 27, when the Sooners fell to 79-70 to Southern — a team that was 1-9 entering the game — at Lloyd Noble Center.

But the tide turned beginning Big 12 play as OU won 12 of its first 13 conference games to move back into position to make the tournament.

The biggest moment in that stretch came Jan. 24, when the Sooners beat Texas 91-87 in Austin.

A week later, OU knocked off then-No. 2 Kansas State in Norman, 66-63, and eventually knocked off the Longhorns again to clinch the Big 12 regular-season title.

After serving mostly as the sixth woman the last few seasons, Skylar Vann emerged as a focal piece this season, leading the team with 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma vs FGCU in March Madness, 2024 Women's NCAA Tournament