Big 12’s basketball strength little solace for Sooners, but also provides a little hope
The Oklahoma Sooners looked to be turning the corner on the hardwood when they picked up a huge win over the No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Instead of a program-defining win, it looks like that will be the high point of a season that will miss out on the NCAA tournament for the second-straight season.
It doesn’t matter how strong Big 12 basketball is if the Oklahoma Sooners get boat raced in each game. It was one thing when the Sooners lost close games to ranked teams in the conference. It’s another thing to get blown out in back-to-back games by unranked conference foes. But that’s where the Sooners stand after losses to Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
In Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology from Friday, the Oklahoma Sooners were one of the last four teams out. While one of the last four out isn’t great, they were still on the bubble. Odds are, with their 32-point loss to West Virginia that the NCAA tournament bubble burst.
The Sooners haven’t had an answer for the efficiency they’ve faced in the last two games. After an incredible shooting performance against Alabama, the Sooners have gone cold again. Especially from three, where they’ve fallen short of 25% from beyond the arch in each of their recent losses.
They’ve got eight games left in the regular season. Seven of those eight remaining games are against teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation. That provides Oklahoma an opportunity to create a resume that could get them into March Madness. They’re just 2-8 in Big 12 play, but a .500 record down the stretch against some of the best in the nation could be enough to earn them a place in the field of 68.
But they’ll have to find a better shooting stroke and defensive effort over the final eight games and in the Big 12 tournament to make that a reality. A couple more performances like the one in Morgantown and they’re postseason fate will be sealed. Their first opportunity to turn the season around will come Wednesday night in Waco against No. 11 Baylor.
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