There's still college football being played, so it's hard to believe it's already also halfway through the college basketball season.
At the midway point, the Oklahoma Sooners are 13-3 and still looking for their first conference win in a loaded SEC. The Sooners started their season 13-0 after getting through their nonconference schedule undefeated, but now, they're on a three-game skid to begin SEC play.
The back half of the season as conference play ramps up is when every game becomes more and more important for that sacred NCAA Tournament resume, especially when a team is as close as OU is right now in being in or out.
Before we get too deep into the Sooners' NET ranking and Quadrant wins, though, I explained all of that in detail here if you need a refresher or if it's all just a foreign language to you.
Oklahoma in the rankings
NET: 47
KenPom: 44
We'll look specifically at the NET rankings, where the Sooners sit at No. 47. That spot is the epitome of on the bubble, making literally every win and loss important for OU at this point.
According to the NET rankings, the cutoff for making the NCAA Tournament is No. 46, where SMU currently sits. That means right now the Sooners would be the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest NET rankings. One win could be enough to have the Sooners in, while each loss would move them further and further down.
Oklahoma's wins
Quadrant 1 wins
Arizona
Louisville
Michigan
Quadrant 2 wins
Providence
Quadrant 3 wins
Georgia Tech
Oklahoma State
Quadrant 4 wins
Lindenwood
Northwestern State
Stetson
East Texas A&M
Central Arkansas
Prairie View A&M
Most of the Sooners' wins so far are in Quadrant 4 thanks to a lackluster nonconference schedule. Wins over Arizona, Louisville and Michigan were huge, though, and should stay that way with all of them coming at neutral sites. There will be plenty more opprtunities for OU to tally Quadrant 1 wins, it just matters if the Sooners actually take advantage of those opportunities or not.
Oklahoma's losses
Alabama
Texas A&M
Georgia
The Sooners are on a three-game losing streak to start SEC play, but on the bright side, all of OU's losses are "good losses," if there really is such a thing. All of these losses should stay put in Quadrant 1, too, especially with the Georgia loss coming on the road.
What's ahead
vs. Texas (Quad 2)
vs. South Carolina (Quad 3)
at Arkansas (Quad 1)
at Texas A&M (Quad 1)
vs. Vanderbilt (Quad 2)
at Auburn (Quad 1)
vs. Tennessee (Quad 1)
at Missouri (Quad 1)
vs. LSU (Quad 2)
at Florida (Quad 1)
vs. Mississippi State (Quad 1)
vs. Kentucky (Quad 1)
at Ole Miss (Quad 1)
vs. Missouri (Quad 2)
at Texas (Quad 1)
The back half of OU's schedule is absolutely loaded thanks to a stacked SEC and includes 10 Quadrant 1 games. It will make or break the Sooners' 2024-25 season.
With the Sooners right on the edge, they still have the opportunity with this schedule to jump up as a pretty high seed, or even be an afterthought by March. The ball is in the Sooners' court, they just have to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.
OU also can't afford to lose those games against Texas (at home), South Carolina, Vanderbilt, LSU and Missouri. A few more Quadrant 1 losses wouldn't be detrimental to OU, but if those Quadrant 2 losses add up, then the Sooners will likely be home again at the end of March.