The Oklahoma women's basketball team used a massive home upset over No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday night to likely get NCAA Tournament action back at Lloyd Noble Center.
Following the No. 16 Sooners' 94-82 overtime win, ESPN's Charlie Creme on Friday in his latest Bracketology gave OU a massive boost thanks to the upset and bumped the Sooners to a top-4 seed with hosting rights.
OU women reclaim March Madness hosting rights after South Carolina upset in latest Bracketology
The Sooners were listed as a 4 seed while hosting No. 5 Maryland, No. 12 San Diego State and No. 13 Montana State in Norman, according to Creme. The placement put the Sooners in Region 1, hosted in Fort Worth, and would once again have OU likely taking on No. 1 UConn in the Sweet 16 again barring a major upset.
OU also got to house the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament last year at LNC before falling to eventual national champion UConn. That home-court advantage, though, was vital in the Sooners' run to the Sweet 16.
As of Thursday before tipoff, Creme had the Sooners as a 5 seed and headed to Baylor for the opening rounds. After being projected to host all season to that point, the Sooners started to let that advantage slip away during a three-game losing streak against ranked SEC teams. The upset of South Carolina, though, not only ended the skid, but also reasserted the Sooners as serious national contenders again.
The Sooners will get plenty more chances to bolster their resume and climb even more comfortably into hosting territory by March with four ranked opponents still left on their schedule. Next, OU will travel to Auburn at 1 p.m. CT Sunday and the game will be on SEC Network.