Where Does Oklahoma’s Resume Stand After SEC Tournament Loss?

The Sooners really could have used a win on Friday, but they didn’t get it.

Oklahoma, the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament, lost 82-79 to three-seed Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

With just over 24 hours until the NCAA Tournament selection committee unveils its field of 68, the Sooners are 19-15 overall and squarely on the bubble.

Here is a look at Oklahoma’s resume ahead of Selection Sunday:

What works in OU’s favor?

Simply put, the Sooners have played better basketball over the last month than the entire bubble, as well as more than a dozen squads who are safely in the field.

Prior to Friday’s loss against the Razorbacks, Oklahoma had won six games in a row and eight of its last 10. That surge followed a nine-game conference losing streak that spanned from Jan. 7 to Feb. 7.

Since the beginning of February, the Sooners have earned wins against Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas A&M, all of which are widely viewed as NCAA Tournament locks. They also took down a handful of SEC bubble teams like Missouri, Texas and Auburn during that stretch.

Oklahoma also entered Friday ranked No. 47 in the NET, which is ahead of other bubble teams like Cincinnati (49) and Missouri (57).

What works against OU?

Well, it’s never ideal to go into Selection Sunday with 15 losses.

While many of those more than a dozen defeats came against top-tier opponents — like Florida, Gonzaga, Arkansas (twice) and Alabama — the Sooners also suffered head-scratching losses against Arizona State, Mississippi State and South Carolina, all of which will not reach the tourney.

It also would have been massive if OU could have swept its series with Texas. The Sooners got the better of the Longhorns in both teams’ regular-season finale in Austin, but Texas won the game in Norman on Jan. 31.

It’s very possible that the committee has to make a decision between OU and Texas. And because Texas had a better conference record and split the regular-season meetings, the committee could choose the Longhorns — even though they lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament to a middling Ole Miss team.

What do bracketologists think?

Bracket experts have differing opinions about the Sooners.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Oklahoma as his first team out of the field after its loss to Arkansas. Torvik, a college basketball analytics website, also has OU as the first team out — and Texas as the last team in.

CBS Sports is more optimistic, as the website had Oklahoma as an 11-seed and receiving a bye to the first round in its bracketology released on Friday morning.

Per Bracket Matrix — which surveys the results from 121 different projected fields — only 18 brackets included the Sooners on Friday.

What should Sooner fans root for on Saturday, Sunday?

Oklahoma’s spot in the field is already in question, and the Sooners can’t afford for there to be any more bid stealers.

Miami (Ohio), which finished the regular season 31-0, bowed out in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. Even so, the RedHawks will still likely get an at-large berth, meaning that the mid-major conference will almost certainly have two teams in the field.

There are still a handful of other teams that could steal bids from at-large hopefuls.

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The aforementioned Ole Miss has won its first three games at the SEC Tournament, and the Rebels will battle Arkansas in the semifinals on Saturday.

Utah State is likely the only at-large team worthy of a bid from the Mountain West, so OU fans must root for the Aggies to win their conference title game on Saturday. The same goes for Saint Louis, which is primed to be the Atlantic-10’s only bid, assuming Dayton, VCU or Saint Joseph's doesn’t steal a bid.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s a miracle that the Sooners are in a position for there to be any Selection Sunday drama.

OU opened SEC play 1-9, and at one point, it seemed generous to expect the Sooners to win four conference games. But Oklahoma rallied late in the year, beating several quality teams to get back into the bubble conversation.

Will it be enough? We’ll know soon enough.