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OU Softball: Breaking Down the Big 12 Championship Scenarios

The Sooners lead the Big 12 race but a Bedlam stumble this weekend brings Texas and Oklahoma State into the picture.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma's Kinzie Hansen
Oklahoma's Kinzie Hansen / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Three softball teams come into the final weekend of the regular season tonight with a shot at the Big 12 Conference crown.

And two of the three play what’s expected to be an epic series at Love’s Field in Norman.

First-place Oklahoma (21-3), second-place Texas (20-4) and third-place Oklahoma State (19-5) are within two games of each other in the standings as the regular season final series begin this evening. The Sooners host the Cowgirls in a three-game series at OU while Texas finishes the season with three games at Texas Tech.

READ MORE: OU Hopes to Harness "Outrageous" Bedlam atmosphere

All three teams can still win the 2024 crown outright, and all three have the possibility of sharing this year’s title. The Big 12 crowns co-champions, although the team with the head-to-head tiebreaker receives the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.

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Currently, Texas holds the tiebreaker over OU with the Longhorns winning two of three against the Sooners in Austin, while OSU holds the tiebreaker over UT with the Cowgirls winning two of three against the Longhorns in Stillwater.

That means OU can still claim a co-championship with two Bedlam wins even if Texas sweeps the Red Raiders. Both teams would finish 23-4, and Texas would be the No. 1 seed in the tournament, while OU would be No. 2.

There are no scenarios for a three-way tie unless rainouts potentially come into play.

The Sooners will own the Big 12 title outright if they are able to sweep all three Bedlam games. It's the final Bedlam series in Big 12 play, although OU coach Patty Gasso said earlier this week the teams will continue to play out-of-conference action after the Sooners leave for the Southeastern Conference next season.

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.