'Shellshocked' Oklahoma Looks to Bounce Back After Stunning SEC Tournament Loss

The Sooners still figure to be among the top national seeds when the NCAA bracket is revealed Sunday.

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso looks on during one of the Sooners' contests against Kentucky earlier this season. | Ryan Chapman / Sooners on SI

Patty Gasso offered a succinct summary of Oklahoma’s 10-5 loss to Georgia on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

“They shellshocked us,” Gasso said.

The Sooners aren’t used to blowing big leads, but they let a five-run lead slip away against the Bulldogs, leaving them to look toward Selection Sunday.

Going into the week, Gasso said she wasn’t overly concerned about whether or not her team would be the No. 1 overall seed.

“Don’t care,” Gasso said. “I can’t control it. I can’t fight for it. There’s nothing we can do. How they’re going to pull this together, I don’t know.”

The Sooners might have a tough time earning the top overall seed now, depending on what happens between now and the selection show.

Second-ranked Nebraska advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament with a win over Michigan on Thursday. The Cornhuskers will take on Indiana on Friday and a run to the conference title, especially if it ends with a win over UCLA, could be enough to lift Nebraska to the top.

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Alabama and Florida figured to dip out of the conversation for the top seed in the final weekend of the regular season but could a run to the SEC championship for either team be enough to lift them ahead of the Sooners?

Texas Tech is highly ranked, but the Red Raiders’ RPI remains low and figures to make it difficult for last season’s Women’s College World Series runners-up to leap Oklahoma.

Even with the loss to Georgia, as disappointing as it was, the Sooners don’t figure to drop any lower than the No. 3 overall seed.

“I would hope we’re in the top three,” Gasso said before the tournament. “You never know. … But as long as we’re home for the next two weekends once we get back, then we’re OK.” 

The Sooners looked in great position early Thursday, jumping ahead 5-0 after two innings before the wheels fell off.

“I felt a little bit of just disconnect,” Gasso said. “Especially in the fourth when they scored five and tied us, our pitching staff started to get anxious, I felt our hitters get anxious, I felt our defense get anxious, there was a glazed look on some of the faces that is not something I’ve seen all season.”

Oklahoma (48-8) needs to move on quickly, to rebound and advance out of the regional next week at Love’s Field.

“If it’s going to happen, now is the time because after that, our season is going to be over,” Gasso said. “Sooners bounce back, they know how to, they always have. They always know how to respond. So, we’re going home, we’re going to retool and get it right.”