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Oklahoma basketball: What you should know about OU March Madness history

By Chip Rouse

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the OklahomaSooners and the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the OklahomaSooners and the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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After several weeks of bubble watching and postseason uncertainty, the men’s Oklahoma basketball team found itself solidly in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field when the full tournament bracket was officially revealed on Sunday.

Sooners headed to the Big Dance. light. Related Story

For most of the season, as many as eight Big 12 teams were projected to a make it into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. But on Selection Sunday, only six teams from the Big 12 made the cut, including the Sooners, who were rewarded with the No. 9 seed in the South Region.

The nine line is actually a little better than most OU basketball fans probably expected, especially after the loss to West Virginia, the last place team in the Big 12, in the opening round of the conference tournament last week.

ESPN “Bracketology” mastermind Joe Lunardi projected that Oklahoma would be a 10 seed.

The fact that the Sooners enter March Madness as an NCAA No. 9 seed is good news, for sure. The not-so-good news, though, about that seeding is: If Oklahoma is able to get by Ole Miss in its opening tournament game, its second-round opponent is highly likely to be the South Region’s top-seeded team, the Virginia Cavaliers.

Oklahoma Sooners Basketball
Oklahoma Sooners Basketball /

Oklahoma Sooners Basketball

Oklahoma is headed to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship for the 32nd time in its history. Here are a few facts and figures on OU’s NCAA Tournament history that Sooner fans should know as we get settled in for the 2019 edition of March Madness:

  • Oklahoma owns a 41-31 record all-time in its 31 NCAA Tournament appearances.
  • The Sooners have appeared in five NCAA Final Fours (1939, 1947, 1988, 2002 and 2016), the most recent being in 2016, featuring All-American and National Player of the Year Buddy Hield.
  • This is the sixth time in head coach Lon Kruger’s eight seasons at Oklahoma that the Sooners have received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
  • Lon Kruger is one of just two coaches who has taken five different teams to the NCAA Tournament.
  • Oklahoma is 6-5 in NCAA Tournament appearances under Lon Kruger.
  • The Sooners are one of just three Big 12 schools who have been to six NCAA Tournaments since 2013 (Kansas and Iowa State are the other two teams).
  • OU has been to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship 27 times in the past 36 years. That is the ninth most appearances of any school during that time span (since 1984). Only Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse have more.
  • Buddy Hield (vs. Oregon in 2016) and Stacey King (against Auburn in 1988) share the record for the most points (36) by a Sooner in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • The most points scored by an Oklahoma team in the NCAA Tournament is 124 (against Louisiana Tech in 1989).
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