Oklahoma Basketball: Can Sooners Win the Big 12 Tournament?
By Chip Rouse
As a No. 3 seed, the odds are against the Oklahoma basketball team coming out on top in the Big 12 Tournament, which begins on Wednesday.
The Sooners, ranked sixth in the country in the latest Associated Press and USA Today polls, have the most difficult path to the Big 12 championship game on Saturday with Iowa State and West Virginia standing between them and a spot in the Big 12 postseason tournament championship.
The consensus among the writers and broadcasters who follow college basketball is that for Oklahoma to regain consideration as a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the Sooners would need to run the table and capture the Big 12 Tournament crown, something they’ve done three times previously, all in succession (2001, 2002 and 2003).
Earlier in the conference schedule, Oklahoma was considered by many to be the front runner to dethrone 11-time defending league champion Kansas, but in a rough month of February the Sooners’ performance was average at best and, at worst, very troublesome.
The Sooners have the talent and the veteran leadership to be a very tough put in the Big 12 Tournament, but the have several problems to fix right now, and they appear to be showing some fatigue here late in the season. When you have arguably the best player in college basketball in Buddy Hield on your side, however, you are going to be in a position to win every game.
The Oklahoma-Iowa State matchup in the nightcap of the quarterfinal round on Thursday could well be the best game of the day. Chances are this will be a high-scoring affair as both of these teams can score and put up plenty of points.
The Sooners’ Hield and Iowa State’s Georges Niang are the top two scorers in the Big 12 this season in conference games. Hield averaged 25 points a game against 18 Big 12 opponents, while Niang averaged 20 points per contest.
Oklahoma and Iowa State split their two regular season games, with both teams mounting a late charge to protect their home court. But the Cyclones are the two-time defending tournament champion, and their fans travel so well, especially in basketball, that they will practically have a home court advantage despite the fact the game is being played on a neutral court at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
And, historically, Oklahoma has not played well when they have been matched up against Iowa State in the postseason Big 12 Tournament.
The quality of these two teams, and a big reason why the final game of the second round in the Big 12 Tournament featuring the Sooners and Cyclones is the featured game of the opening rounds, is underscored in the fact that ESPN college basketball analyst and bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects Oklahoma as a two seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament and Iowa State as a four seed in the Big Dance.
As they say, you have to win the first game before you can win the second game in a tournament, and that’s why Oklahoma first has to take care of business against Iowa State before they start worrying about, most likely, West Virginia on Friday night.
I believe this is the year, however, that the Sooners get by the pesky Cyclones, win their opening tournament game for just the second time in coach Lon Kruger’s five seasons at Oklahoma and, importantly, don’t fold up late in the contest and allow Iowa State to takeover the game in the late going.
To do so, the Sooners must hit their shots, get out in front early and protect the ball as well as the defensive backboard. My pick: Oklahoma 83, Iowa State 78.