How to Watch Oklahoma Sooners vs. Arkansas Razorbacks

The SEC Tournament has been a revenge tour for Oklahoma thus far.

The Sooners opened the tourney with wins over South Carolina and Texas A&M — squads that combined for a 3-0 record against OU during the regular season — in the first two rounds.

And on Friday, Oklahoma will have another chance for a get-back. OU will battle Arkansas, the No. 3 seed in the conference tourney, with tipoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

The Razorbacks are led by sensational freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr., who recently won SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. Acuff is averaging 22.2 points, 6.4 assists and 3 rebounds per game.

Arkansas, though, is more than a one-man show.

Three other Razorbacks — Meleek Thomas, Trevon Brazile and Billy Richmond III — are averaging more than 11 points per game. Richmond was also named to the SEC’s All-Defensive Team, and Brazile’s 1.6 blocks per game rank fourth in the conference.

Between Acuff’s stardom and the Razorbacks’ defensive prowess, Arkansas has been one of the SEC’s toughest outs all season. Arkansas ended the regular season 23-8 overall and 13-5 in league play.

Even though the Razorbacks finished six games ahead of Oklahoma (19-14, 7-11) in the conference standings, the only regular-season meeting between the teams was competitive.

The Sooners and Razorbacks were tied with less than a minute remaining before Acuff hit a go-ahead and-1 to give Arkansas a three-point lead. Brazile blocked a layup from Xzayvier Brown on the Sooners’ ensuing possession, and the Razorbacks were able to escape Norman with an 83-79 win.

Arkansas Razorbacks, Darius Acuff Jr. — Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. drives against Oklahoma. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Arkansas

Date: March 13
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Location: Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN)
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.7 FM The Franchise

That heartbreaking loss was one of nine defeats in a row that OU suffered from Jan. 7 to Feb. 7.

Since then, the Sooners have played much better basketball.

OU has won eight of its last 10 contests, several of which have come against likely NCAA Tournament squads like Vanderbilt, Georgia, Missouri and Texas A&M.

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In the midst of OU’s several-week surge, the Sooners have returned the bubble for the “Big Dance.”

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has OU as the “first team out” in his projected field of 68. The Sooners were also in the “first four out” of CBS Sports’ bracketology, which the network released prior to Thursday’s games.

All of this goes to say that the Sooners have a realistic chance to make the NCAA Tournament after Thursday’s win. And if OU can pull off another upset against the Razorbacks, the Sooners will further bolster their resume ahead of Selection Sunday.