Sooner Nation has been anticipating this for a while, so it won't be a surprise to anyone, but the Oklahoma Sooners' NCAA Tournament bubble finally popped.
Joe Lunardi has OU listed as his first team left out of the field of 68 teams in his latest ESPN Bracketology that was released on Friday.
The Sooners had been on the bubble for weeks, according to Lunardi's projections. Even after four losses in a row and an embarrassment to LSU last weekend, the Sooners on Tuesday were still in with a first-round game as one of the last four in and a possible 11 seed, the lowest they had been projected all season.
Apparently the final straw was an 85-63 blowout to No. 2 Florida on Tuesday night that extended the Sooners' losing streak to five. That losing streak will likely grow with four more ranked SEC opponents ahead for OU.
In his fourth season at the helm, Porter Moser has never led the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament. Another March at home, even with an expensive buyout, will force OU to move on from Moser.
With the Sooners dropping out of the projected field, the SEC is now predicted to get 12 teams into the NCAA Tournament, which is still the most among all conferences. Georgia, which beat OU earlier this season, is also listed as one of the first four teams out, along with the Sooners, SMU and North Carolina.
Auburn still has the top overall seed, followed by fellow SEC members No. 1 Florida, No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 5 Missouri, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 9 Texas, No. 11 Arkansas and No. 11 Vanderbilt.
With the conference continuing to beat up on each other, Texas, Vanderbilt and Arkansas are all on the bubble trying to stay in. The Longhorns will end their regular season against OU on March 8 in Austin, Texas.
The Sooners host No. 21 Mississippi State on Saturday. Every team left on OU's regular-season schedule is projected to make the NCAA Tournament.