OU Basketball: Oklahoma Looks to Break Losing Streak vs. No. 2 Florida

After a devastating loss to LSU on Saturday, the Sooners look to break a four-game skid against No. 2 Florida on Tuesday.

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma and Florida’s early seasons mimicked each other. But the teams’ trajectories have been much different since beginning SEC play.

Both the Sooners and the Gators finished their non-conference slates undefeated, but since then, No. 2-ranked Florida has been one of the league’s best teams, while OU has been a bottom feeder.

Oklahoma (16-9, 3-9 SEC) battles Florida in Gainesville on Tuesday, looking to break a four-game losing streak.

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Gives Away Stunning Home Loss to Struggling LSU

The Gators entered SEC play as sort of an unknown. Even as an undefeated squad after 13 games, Florida’s wins against Wake Forest, North Carolina, Virginia and Arizona State didn’t age well, as those teams have all failed to reach expectations.

But Florida has proven its legitimacy while competing in college basketball’s best conference. The Gators (22-3, 9-3) enter Tuesday’s game tied for third place in the SEC standings.

Florida earned two wins over teams ranked No. 1 at the time in Tennessee and Auburn. Auburn is still the top-ranked team in the nation.

The Gators have also collected wins against Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas and South Carolina (twice).

Now No. 4 in the NET rankings, the Gators have won seven of their last eight games.

Florida is in the top five in the SEC in several categories: Assists, rebounds, field-goal percentage and scoring.

The Gators are fueled by a high-powered backcourt and a lengthy frontcourt.

Guards Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard have all scored with ease throughout the season, averaging 17.2, 15.1 and 13 points per game, respectively.

Alex Condon, a 6-foot-11 forward, is also averaging double-digit points per game (10.6) while logging a team-high 7.8 rebounds per contest. 

The Sooners’ SEC campaign — their first ever — has been a polar opposite.

OU opened conference play with four straight losses before winning three of four games. Since that surge, things have gone wayward, with the Sooners dropping four games in a row.

The last loss was the most devastating.

After holding a 13-point lead against LSU — No. 82 in the NET — the Sooners allowed the Tigers to come back and eventually win 82-79 despite OU winning the rebounding margin 43-28 and LSU shooting 56.7 percent from the free-throw line. LSU’s win was just its second of SEC play and moved OU into 14th place in the conference standings.

This conference slump comes after a stellar non-conference slate for OU, where it went 13-0 and grabbed wins against Providence, Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Oklahoma State.

But because of their conference woes, the Sooners are firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Oklahoma Revises Home Tournament Schedule Due to Weather Concerns

CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry Palm has them as a 10-seed in the field in his latest projection, released Monday. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Sooners on the same line as one of the “last four byes” in his projection, released on Friday before OU’s loss to LSU.

Five of the Sooners’ final six regular-season opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25, with Texas being the only exception. The Longhorns beat Oklahoma in the teams’ first meeting in January.

The rigorous remaining schedule gives OU plenty of chances to compensate for its recent struggles. But the Sooners will have to pull off a couple of upsets to avoid Selection Sunday nerves — a feeling Oklahoma fans are all too familiar with.