No one but maybe Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser would have believed this a few weeks ago, but college basketball games being played in March actually matter for the Sooners, and not just their own.
The Sooners are heading into March Madness on a four-game winning streak that suddenly has them on the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to most major bracket projections. The late surge put OU at 17-14 overall and 7-11 in SEC play, which also has the Sooners at No. 54 in NET Rankings before they tip off SEC Men's Basketball Tournament play against South Carolina at 8:30 p.m. CT Wednesday.
Still a long shot to sneak into the Big Dance, OU needs to not only put together a run of its own in the SEC Tournament, but also needs some other bubble teams to suffer early losses in their conference tournaments this week.
With basketball on TV basically all day at this point, especially with a free trial to fuboTV, there are games OU fans can watch that impact the Sooners' season, even if they're not actually on the court.
5 teams that need to lose to improve Sooners' NCAA Tournament bubble chances
Auburn Tigers
The Sooners have a better overall record than Auburn, the same SEC mark and hammered the Tigers 91-79 just a few weeks ago, yet Auburn is still ahead of OU as ESPN's Joe Lunardi's last team in the 68-team field in his latest projection.
The Tigers earned the No. 12 seed in the SEC Tournament, a slot below OU, and play No. 13 Mississippi State in the first round at 2 p.m. CT Wednesday on SEC Network. Mississippi State has a losing record, so if the Bulldogs upset Auburn right off the bat, the Tigers shouldn't have an argument left. However, even if Auburn gets past Mississippi State but is thumped by Tennessee bad enough in the next round, then the Sooners could still jump them with at least two tournament wins.
California Golden Bears
OU fans could have just as much reason to watch the ACC Tournament as the SEC Tournament, starting with Cal, which was the team right ahead of OU in Lunardi's latest projection.
As the 8-seed in the ACC Tournament, the Golden Bears don't get it easy in the first round with No. 9 Florida State, which already beat Cal this season and enters the tourney on a three-game winning streak. The Seminoles would elimate a team for OU with a win at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday on ESPN2.
Cincinnati Bearcats
Back to the days of watching the Big 12 Tournament, OU fans want to see 10-21 Utah beat Cincinnati, just two spots ahead of the Sooners, at 2 p.m. CT Tuesday on ESPN+ despite being a massive 11.5-point underdog, according to FanDuel. Losing to a team they're supposed to beat that bad would be the dagger in the Bearcats' chances. However, even a loss to UCF in the second round could also end Cincy's hopes.
Stanford Cardinal
The ACC Tournament is full of games that matter to the Sooners, including Stanford playing Pitt at 1 p.m. CT Tuesday on ACC Network. Stanford is one Lunardi's first four teams out, but a loss to a 12-19 Pitt team would be enough for a long fall from grace.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech is right above Stanford as a first four team out, but a first round full of upsets in the ACC Tournament would be a dream scenario for OU fans. The 12-seed Hokies don't have an easy matchup with No. 13 Wake Forest, which split two games with the Hokies during the regular season.