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Oklahoma baseball: Sooners picked to finish 4th in Big 12 this season

By Chip Rouse

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 27: Max Kepler #26 of the Minnesota Twins hits a two run homer in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Target Field on April 27, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Twins defeated the Baltimore Orioles 9-2.(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 27: Max Kepler #26 of the Minnesota Twins hits a two run homer in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Target Field on April 27, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Twins defeated the Baltimore Orioles 9-2.(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma baseball is picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 this season in the annual preseason poll of the league coaches.

For the third consecutive season, reigning conference champion Texas Tech was picked to win the Big 12 crown. The Red Raiders received six of the seven first-place votes cast by the conference coaches.

Oklahoma State finished second, and TCU received the remaining first-place vote and placed third in the poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their team.

This is the sixth time in the last 10 seasons that the Sooners have been picked to finish fourth or higher in the Big 12 preseason poll. Four times over the past decade, Oklahoma has finished better than its preseason projection; five times, however, the Sooners finished worse in the final standings than original expectations.

Over the past decade, Oklahoma’s average preseason projection has been fourth place. Interestingly, fourth has also been the Sooners average finish in the conference standings the past 10 seasons.

The Sooners have made 38 NCAA postseason appearances, but were unable to get there a year ago after going 33-23 overall and just 8-11 in Big 12 play. OU begins the new season on Valentine’s Day weekend (Feb. 14) with a three-game series against Virginia out of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The 2020 Oklahoma schedule is a typically robust one, featuring 25 games against nine opponents that reached the postseason last season. Among the nonconference opponents are games against Arkansas and LSU, ranked fifth and 12th, respectively, in the USA Today Baseball Top 25. In fact, the Sooners actually have two games scheduled with Arkansas.

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