NCAA Final Four: A Case for Oklahoma to Win It All

Four teams are left, but only one will end the college basketball season on a winning note as the NCAA Final Four gets set to unfold this weekend in Houston.

When everyone began filling out their brackets prior to the start of this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, very few folks had Oklahoma advancing out of the West Region and getting to the Final Four, let alone going 6-0 and winning the national championship.

So here we are, five days before the two national semifinal games on Saturday, but where are we, really?

Only one No. 1 seed is in the Final Four, along with a 10 seed and two No. 2s, one of which is Oklahoma, the third-place team in the Big 12 this season, but a team that spent time as No. 1 in the country this season.

It is probably safe to say that any team that gets this far in the tournament is capable of winning it all, but in practical terms, the reasonable assumption is that No. 1 North Carolina will play the winner of the game between the Sooners and Villanova on Monday night for the 2016 national championship.

I heard one national sports radio talk-show host express the opinion that it is difficult to go with a team that barely got by its lower-seeded opponents in the first two rounds, referring to Oklahoma, as a Final Four favorite. I have to be honest, this incensed me, and not just a little bit.

Who cares that the Sooners didn’t blow by Cal State-Bakersfield and Virginia Commonwealth on their way to the Sweet 16. Oklahoma held double-digits leads in the second half against both teams.? In this tournament, a win is a win, and the winners move on.

Yes, the Roadrunners (Cal State) and the Rams (VCU) proved to be resilient and fought their way back into the game, but the Sooners, with the best player in college basketball this season, bar none, on their side were able to comfortably, and convincingly, close out both games.

The Sweet 16 is the point in March Madness when the tournament really begins to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Very few so-called Cinderella teams make it past the second weekend.

Say what you want about Oklahoma’s performance over the last month of the regular season being marginal at best, and a bit sloppy and inconsistent at worst. And if it will make those of you who consider yourself Sooner critics feel any better, I will concede that Buddy Hield and the boys did not blow out either opponent on the opening weekend of the tournament. So what?

Oklahoma’s wins over No. 3 Texas A&M in the round of 16 and over top-seeded Oregon in the West Regional final were as dominant a performance, given the quality of the opponent, as in any game in this year’s NCAA Championship.

So, to begin with, no one can tell me that Oklahoma – a top-10 team this entire season – doesn’t deserve to be one of the teams playing in the Final Four. And, in my mind, just getting there is not good enough.

Although it is true to say that none of the Final Four teams can be denied a season of great accomplishment – just getting to this point validates that contention – only one team will be remembered after Monday night.

Here is the case for why that team – this season’s NCAA Division I basketball national champion – can and will be OKLAHOMA:

• The Buddy Beatdown: The game’s best players show up to play and play best in the biggest games, and the best player in the college game this season wears an Oklahoma jersey. Buddy Hield has proven time and time again this season that he has the talent, the skill and the nerves of steel to take over a game and put his team on his shoulders. He has been the dagger in the heart of many an opponent this season, and when he is on fire and knocking down stop-and-pop threes from all over the floor, the Sooners are extremely difficult to beat.
• Underrated defense: When people think of Oklahoma basketball this season, they conjure thoughts of a team with a premier scorer in All-American Buddy Hield and a balanced offense that is explosive on the offensive end and can score a lot of points in a hurry. The Sooners ability to play solid defense, however, in my opinion, is highly underrated and undervalued. Good offenses put up plenty of points, but strong defensive play wins championships. OU scored 77 and 80 points in beating Texas A&M and Oregon, but the Sooners held both opponents under 70 points, largely because of an unheralded defensive effort. Texas A&M was held to 34-percent shooting and was just 6 of 28 from three-point range, for 21 percent. The Sooners limited Oregon to just 39 percent from the field and 19 percent on three-point attempts (4 of 21). If they continue this against Villanova and, potentially, in the championship game, good things are bound to come from it.
• It’s a team game. Four Oklahoma starters have started every game and played together for over 100 consecut5ive games in a three-year span. Three of the four are seniors. That leadership, experience and knowledge of individuals tendencies and how each other plays is invaluable when it comes to this point in the season. This team never believes it is out of a game, and it has extreme confidence and trust in one another.
• Inside out – look out: Oklahoma is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, averaging 10-plus per game. In the games they have not played well in, it has largely because they have not shot well from long range and they have three-point attempts. They are at their best when they look for inside opportunities with Ryan Spangler and Khadeem Lattin, or penetrate to the basket with one of the guards on a dribble drive and, when the defense collapses, kick it back out to an open three-point shooter. Teams are going into games against OU with the plan of running the Sooners off the three-point line, so the more OU is able to mix it up and keep the defense off balance, the more scoring opportunities there will be for Buddy & Co. When they drive to the basket, it also increases the chances of getting fouled and earning three points the old-fashioned way.
• Destiny: Even before the 2015-16 season tipped off in November, there was a very special feeling about this team, and it has clearly lived up to expectations. This may not be the greatest team in Sooner basketball history, but if it wins two games in Houston and hoists the championship trophy in the school’s fifth appearance in the Final Four, it will be hard to argue otherwise.