It's officially March, as if every game didn't already matter enough for the Oklahoma men's basketball team. The Sooners will start the month by hosting the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.
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February is mercifully over for the Sooners after they went 2-6 during the month. The short month seemed awfully long during a five-game losing streak before OU upset then-No. 21 Mississippi State 93-87 last weeknd. The Sooners then got back to losing, though, with a close 83-82 heartbreaker to No. 17 Kentucky on Wednesday.
Even with an abysmal 4-11 conference record, the Sooners are still on the NCAA Tournament bubble and projected to just barely get in thanks to a 13-0 start to the season and an incredibly daunting SEC slate.
The Sooners are still desperate for at least one more win, though, and Ole Miss is probably their best chance with No. 14 Missouri next for their home finale before a trip to Austin to play Texas to end the regular season.
Ole Miss just fell out of the rankings after losing its last three games, including to that Mississippi State team that OU beat. Most recently, No. 1 Auburn hammered the Rebels 106-76 on Wednesday.
The Sooners have played good basketball their last two outings, even in the loss, especially from freshman guard Jeremiah Fears, who has scored at least 15 points in his last four games.
Fears is averaging 16 points a game this season. Senior forward Jalon Moore still leads the Sooners with a 17.1 average.
Ole Miss is led by senior guard Sean Pedulla, who's averaging 14.8 points a game and is from nearby Edmond, Oklahoma. He just transferred from Virginia Tech last offseason, and despite playing down the road, Pedulla didn't have an offer from OU out of Edmond Memorial High School.