Despite a three-game losing streak, the Oklahoma Sooners are still predicted to get to go dancing in March, at least for now.
Joe Lunardi released his latest ESPN Bracketology on Tuesday and had the Sooners projected as the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. In this prediction, OU would play No. 8 Louisville in Lexington, Kentucky. Alabama, which thumped the Sooners 107-79, would be the top seed and likely waiting on OU in the next round.
I wrote about the Sooners' NCAA Tournament resume at the halfway point of the season in-depth here. OU is at No. 47 in the NET rankings, which uses the 46th spot as the cutoff of getting into the NCAA Tournament. There's still plenty of opportunities ahead for the Sooners, though.
Some have the Sooners as a team on the bubble after losing three straight games to start SEC play. OU is still hanging on thanks to its 13-0 start in nonconference play to begin the season. All of the Sooners' losses are also Quadrant 1 losses, which is another boost.
Lunardi, though, doesn't have OU on the bubble yet. His last four teams in include New Mexico, Iowa, Dayton and Creighton. Texas, which the Sooners host Wednesday night, is one of the next four out.
Texas is one of three SEC teams on ESPN's bubble watch, joining Arkansas and Vanderbilt. The SEC leads all conferences with 11 teams projected to make the 68-team field. That includes half of the No. 1 seeds with Auburn and Alabama.
The Sooners still have a long ways to go, though, and Step 1 is finally notching their first SEC win Wednesday night against Texas after an 0-3 start to SEC play. The Longhorns are also still searching for their first conference win.
A loss to Texas could be enough to drop the Sooners out of the 68-team bracket and get replaced by their rival. OU and Texas will clash at 9 p.m. CT Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Texas starts OU's easiest three-game stretch during SEC play with 10 Quadrant 1 games included the rest of the way. These next two weeks could completely pop OU's bubble if things go poorly.