Why Sooners are still slotted for the NCAA Tournament
WACO, Texas—Evenafter a fifth consecutive loss and a 3-9 Big 12 record, Oklahoma is still showing up in NCAA Tournament projections. There are two reasons why, as ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi explained Tuesday. First, what OU accomplished in November and December (11-1) is weighed as much as what it does in January and February (4-9). Second, conference records don't mean all that much to the selection committee. “Nowhere on the NCAA team sheets is conference record documented,” Lunardi wrote. “Let's repeat that for emphasis: the most important segment of any team's results is excluded from the data most referenced by the committee.” Lunardi, even after OU's loss to Baylor on Monday, projects the Sooners as one of four “last teams in.” He slotted an OklahomaArizona State First Four matchup in Dayton, Ohio. Oklahoma ranks 42nd in the NET despite being 2-8 against the NET top-50. OU's best win, according to the NET, is against No. 27 Wofford (21-4, 13-0 Southern). The Sooners are still being boosted by the 10th toughest schedule in the country.
Missed opportunity
Oklahoma went 1 for 4 shooting in the last three minutes Monday night with two turnovers. But a pair of missed free throws was the most glaring error. Christian James stepped to the foul line on an island to himself with 2:53 left in the game and OU trailing 53-51. Baylor's Mario Kegler had just been charged with a Flagrant 1 foul for contact to the head. James, with a chance to tie the game, missed both free throws. “It's tough. I don't usually miss free throws,” James, a 77 percent foul shooter, said. “That's all mental. I've just gotta knock them down.” Injury update Oklahoma center Jamuni McNeace was held out Monday for the second straight game due to a right ankle injury. But there was a sign of progress. McNeace wasn't in the walking boot he wore Saturday during the Texas Tech game. There's still no timetable for his return, coach Lon Kruger said Monday night. “We'll see how he feels later in the week and whether or not he practices before Saturday,” Kruger said. “It'll be up to Jamuni in terms of how he's feeling.”
Quotable
Rashard Odomes on what OU's senior class can still accomplish: “These last few games are what people are gonna remember us by. What we did in the past — no matter that we went to a Final Four and what we did last year — it could really help us this year if we go to the tournament. It's big for the seniors to try and leave a legacy.”