Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma Basketball vs. This Year’s Final Four

By Chip Rouse

Mar 26, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) cuts down the net after a West Regional final in the NCAA Tournament against the Oregon Ducks at the Honda Center.Oklahoma defeated Oregon 80-68. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) cuts down the net after a West Regional final in the NCAA Tournament against the Oregon Ducks at the Honda Center.Oklahoma defeated Oregon 80-68. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

A year ago at this time Oklahoma basketball was riding high with the Sooner men advancing to Houston as one of the four regional champions making up the 2016 NCAA Basketball Final Four.

To get to their fifth Final Four in program history, Oklahoma had to defeat the top seed in last year’s NCAA West Region, the Oregon Ducks. National Player of the Year Buddy Hield scored 37 points, including eight three-pointers, in leading the No. 2-seeded Sooners to an 80-68 win in Anaheim, Calif., and the West Regional championship.

Oregon found itself in another regional final this season, only this time the Ducks were the No. 2 seed, going up against No. 1 seed Kansas, out of the Big 12, in the Midwest Regional championship game played at the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The Jayhawks had a huge home court advantage, playing the game just 35 miles from the University of Kansas Lawrence campus.

This year, however, Oregon was hungry and seeking redemption from the previous postseason and took it right to Jayhawks from the opening tip, The Ducks led by 11 at halftime and expanded on that in the second half, surprising the top-seeded Jayhawks 74-60 and punching their ticket to this year’s Final Four in Phoenix.

Oklahoma did not have a good season by Sooner basketball standards, but the Sooners did play nine schools that were part of the NCAA Tournament 64-team field this season. Six of those teams were from the Big 12 (Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Kansas State).

More from OU Basketball

Against the team from their own conference who made it into March Madness, the Sooners were just 2-10. The two wins came over West Virginia in double overtime and a 30-point blowout of Kansas State.

Oklahoma also played and lost against Wisconsin (by 20 points), Wichita State (by three points)) and Florida (by 32 points, OU’s worst loss of the season).

Historically, the Sooners are 5-8 against the last four teams standing in this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. OU owns a 3-1 all-time record against South Carolina. Against Frank Martin-coached teams (Martin was at K-State from 2007-12), Oklahoma is 3-3.

OU is 1-2 all-time against both Gonzaga and Oregon, and is 0-3 against North Carolina. Against Roy Williams, the current head coach of the Tar Heels who was at Kansas for 14 seasons from 1988 to 2003, Oklahoma won 10 and lost 17 games.

For those who might be interested, the Sooners are 1-4 all-time against the regional runner-ups in this year’s tournament not named Kansas. Oklahoma is 66-146 all-time against the Jayhawks, the only school among the current Big 12 members that has a winning record against the Sooners.

Home/OU Basketball