A Look at Oklahoma's Path Through the NCAA Tournament

NORMAN — Raegan Beers and Grace VanSlooten have matched up before.

Three times, in fact, as college players.

Payton Verhulst and Jalyn Brown were teammates early in the 2022-2023 season, just before Verhulst transferred to Oklahoma.

Now, Beers and Verhulst are likely to face VanSlooten and Brown on a much bigger stage should the Sooners of Beers and Verhulst match up with Michigan State, VanSlooten and Brown in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

There was plenty on the line during those regular-season matchups between Beers and VanSlooten, with Beers playing for Oregon State and VanSlooten for Oregon.

Beers' Sooners are the No. 4 seed in the Regional 4 — Sacramento Region, while VanSlooten's Michigan State squad are the No. 5 seed.

If both win their first-round matchups Friday night at Lloyd Noble Center, they'll square off Sunday with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line.

The Spartans have their highest seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2016 when they were a No. 4 seed.

VanSlooten is a big reason why Michigan State is in this position.

The 6-foot-3 senior forward leads the Spartans (22-8, 11-7 Big Ten) with 15.0 points per game, and is adding 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Brown, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, averages 11.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

The Sooners are No. 3 nationally in scoring offense, avergaing 86.7 points per game. Only UConn and LSU scored more.

Michigan State is No. 10, averaging 83 points per game.

The Spartans haven't made it to the Sweet 16 since 2009,

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The Sooners will take on Idaho at approximately 9 p.m. Friday at LNC.

The Vandals are in the tournament for the first time since 2016 and the fourth time in program history.

Idaho earned its best seed in program history, after being No. 14 and No. 16 seeds in appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

The Vandals (29-5) have won 18 consecutive games, with their last loss coming Jan. 10 at Montana State.

Among Idaho's other losses was a Dec. 3 home loss to Oral Roberts.

The Vandals also have a high-flying offense, averaging 77.1 points per game, led by Hope Hassmann's 14.2 points per game.

Michigan State's first-round opponent is Colorado State.

Unlike the other three teams in the Norman Regional, Colorado State's offense is much slower paced.

The Rams are are averaging 66.5 points per game, but lead the nation with just 10.4 turnovers per game.

Opponents are shooting just 35% against the Rams (27-7, 15-5 Mountain West).

If the Sooners are able to escape the Norman Regional, the challenge becomes steep. It was always going to be as a No. 4 seed taking on one of the top four teams in the field barring a major upset in the first two rounds.

But at least Oklahoma has recent success against its likely opponent.

The Sooners figre to match up with South Carolina in the third round.

OU beat the Gamecocks 94-82 in overtime in Norman on Jan. 22, a game in which freshman Aaliyah Chavez took over in the extra period.

But South Carolina has become one of the sport's top powers in recent years, making the last five Final Fours.

Dawn Staley's team hasn't failed to make the weet 16 since 2013.

"You start to look at that," Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk said of a potential rematch with the Gamecocks. "But really you focus on Idaho and then after Idaho, you look at your next opponent and so we're not in a place where we've ever been able to look far ahead. You know we've been to the Sweet 16 and that's it. So we can't worry about who we might play later."

Aaliyah Chavez, Sooners — Aaliyah Chavez (2) cheers after a basket and foul during the women's college basketball game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the South Carolina at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Thursday Jan. 22, 2026. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images