It seems the oddsmakers in Vegas either forgot what happened the last time the Oklahoma Sooners played the South Carolina Gamecocks, or just believe it was a flatout fluke.
Despite the Sooners already beating South Carolina during the regular season, FanDuel opened the Gamecocks as massive 17.5-point favorites in their rematch in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at 4 p.m. CT Saturday in Sacramento, California. As of Friday, that outrageous spread hadn't budged since it was released on Monday.
Sooners are massive underdogs for Sweet 16 rematch
The Gamecocks' 94-82 overtime loss to OU on Jan. 22 in Norman was one of just three losses South Carolina has suffered this season while earning a No. 1 seed at 33-3. The Sooners got a No. 4 seed at 26-7 and was placed in the same region as the Gamecocks for many to immediately predict a rematch was imminent.
In that OU win, freshman Aaliyah Chavez went off for 15 points in overtime to secure the upset at Lloyd Noble Center. She finished with 26 points total as an early sign that she has a knack for playing better the bigger the games are, which has been proven true during her March Madness debut.
In her NCAA Tournament debut, Chavez posted 15 points, six rebounds and five assists with no turnovers while playing a team-high 31 minutes in the Sooners' 89-59 thumping of No. 13 Idaho. She then leveled up with 18 points and six assists in OU's second-round 77-71 win against No. 5 Michigan State.
Chavez has led the Sooners all season, but now she's on the monster stage that brings out the best in her and has two NCAA Tournament games under her belt as she improves each round. The Sooners also have a veteran trio of Raegan Beers, Payton Verhulst and Sahara Williams, who were all in this same spot last year when they made the Sweet 16.
OU head coach Jennie Baranczyk also pointed out that the Sooners didn't even play perfect in their win over South Carolina, so it's not like OU has to be flawless to have a chance against the Gamecocks.
Vegas has discarded all that, though. The most absurb thinking is that South Carolina was only a 10.5-point favorite ahead of the first meeting while the Sooners were in the midst of a three-game losing streak and hadn't even proved yet they could beat the Gamecocks.
But, that didn't matter then, and it definitely doesn't during March Madness.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.