The opening game for the men’s Oklahoma basketball team in the Big 12 Championship has not ended in celebration for the Sooners in recent years.
The Sooners are 1-3 in their opening game of the conference tournament in the last four seasons the postseason tournament has been played.
It hasn’t always been that way, however. Oklahoma owns a 23-21 record in the 24 years the Big 12 Tournament has been played. That’s the fourth-best record among current conference members.
Kansas (47-12) has the best tournament record, followed by Texas (28-23), Oklahoma State (26-22) and the Sooners.
Oklahoma made it to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament championships in five of the first seven seasons and was crowned champion in three consecutive seasons (2001-03). Only Kansas (14) and Texas (7) have made it to the championship round of the postseason tournament more than the Sooners.
Here are some other notable numbers from Oklahoma’s Big 12 Tournament history:
3 — Number of current Big 12 members against whom Oklahoma has a winning record in the Big 12 Tournament (Iowa State, 7-4, Kansas State, 4-2, and Texas, 4-3).
10 — Most wins against any one opponent in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Men’s Championship (Colorado, 10-0).
12 — Most made three-point field goals by the Sooners in a single tournament game (vs. Colorado in 2003, vs. Baylor in 2014).
19 — Most rebounds in a game by an OU player (19 by Blake Griffin vs. Oklahoma State in 2009).
37 — Most made free throws by Oklahoma in a single game (37 of 47 vs. Missouri in 2000).
39 — Most individual points scored by an Oklahoma player in the Big 12 Tournament (39 by Buddy Hield against Iowa State in the 2016 quarterfinals).
73 — Most points by an OU player in a single tournament (by Corey Brewer over three games in 1997).
84 — Most points scored by Oklahoma in a single game of the tournament (Oklahoma 84, Missouri 80 in overtime in 2000)