3 NCAA Tournament sleepers Oklahoma fans know all-too-well

Oklahoma missed the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years under head coach Porter Moser, but for fans who followed the Sooners' miserable season that ended with a miracle turnaround, there are plenty of familiar teams scattered throughout the 68-team bracket.

Even without the Sooners competing, OU fans will still be watching March Madness and filling out brackets, and the Sooners' loaded schedule could have given an insight on some teams that could make a further run than expected.

March Madness upsets to watch

No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks

It's odd to deem a No. 4 seed a "sleeper," but that slot seems awfully low for a team that just won the SEC championship, plus has one of the best players in the country in Darius Acuff Jr. and a head coach in John Calipari who's been to the Final Four six times.

Arkansas was responsible for ending the Sooners' six-game winning streak in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, which also ultimately left OU one victory shy of going dancing itself. The Razorbacks also beat OU during the regular season.

The Razorbacks could very well carry that momentum to the Final Four. They play No. 13 Hawaii first, then likely No. 5 Wisconsin, which OU beat in its season opener. Arizona is the top seed standing in Arkansas' way, but if the Razorbacks pull off that upset, that's likely the only real challenge between them and the Final Four.

No. 11 Texas Longhorns

Texas is actually the only OU opponent in the NCAA Tournament that's not a top-5 seed, which proves just how loaded the Sooners' schedule was this season.

The Longhorns barely snuck in and somehow earned a bid over the Sooners, who beat Texas just last week and has more overall wins. Regardless, Texas is SEC tough, which should help it in its First Four matchup against NC State. Then, Texas would get No. 6 BYU, which has been inconsistent all season despite having the nation's leading scorer. No. 3 Gonzaga in a potential second-round meeting also isn't as battle-tested as the Longhorns.

No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores

Another top-5 seed that might not be considered a "sleeper," but yet another underrated squad out of the SEC.

Vanderbilt made it all the way to the SEC Tournament final before losing to Arkansas, which shows the Commodores could be back to their peak like when they won the first 16 games of the season before Texas ended that streak. On the flip side, the Sooners ended their losing streak with a road upset over Vandy, and the Commodores were up and down ever since until March, which is the perfect time to heat up.

The Commodores play No. 12 McNeese first, then either No. 4 Nebraska or No. 13 Troy. The Cornhuskers have never won an NCAA Tournament game in program history. And if Vandy makes it past one of those two, No. 1 Florida will likely be waiting in the Sweet 16, and the Commodores just hammered the Gators 91-74 in the SEC Tournament.

NCAA Tournament bracket