Almost by the hour, the Oklahoma Sooners keep escalating higher and higher on the list of bubble teams fighting for one of the final spots in the NCAA Tournament.
After a full day of conference tournament action that went almost perfectly for the Sooners on Wednesday, their chances at going dancing seem better than ever just three days before Selection Sunday, at least based on what bracket experts are predicting.
Joe Lunardi lists Oklahoma among first 4 teams left out of NCAA Tournament
ESPN's Joe Lunardi on Thursday morning leapt OU up as his third team left out of the 68-team field. Lunardi has Indiana and New Mexico as the only two teams between the Sooners and the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi also has Auburn as his final team making the tourney, but the Sooners not only have a better record than the Tigers in the same conference, but hammered Auburn 91-79 just last month, so if it comes down between those two to get in, OU seems like the obvious choice.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 12, 2026
CBS Sports is even higher on OU as its second team left out behind only New Mexico. That outlet also has Auburn as its last team in as of Thursday morning.
On Wednesday night before the Sooners beat South Carolina 86-74 in the first round of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Lunardi said on SEC Network that OU needed to win three games in the conference tournament to seriously be considered, which would get OU to the semis on Saturday, extend its winning streak to seven games and give the Sooners 20 wins at 20-14.
Read more: Joe Lunardi just gave Oklahoma’s NCAA Tournament chances a harsh reality check
Not only did the Sooners dominate South Carolina to take care of what they can control, but most things out of OU's control also went the right way. On Wednesday morning, Lunardi had seven teams ahead of OU on his bubble list. Of the five teams that played that day, only Auburn won, which helped boost the Sooners up the list by Thursday morning.
As for Thursday, the Sooners obviously first have to beat Texas A&M at 8:30 p.m. CT. No matter what goes right throughout the day, none of it matters if the the night ends with an OU loss.
Auburn plays Tennessee at 2 p.m. CT Thursday. A loss then should erase any comparison between the Sooners and Tigers. New Mexico starts its Mountain West Tournament action at 10:30 p.m. and needs to go pretty far to stay ahead of the Sooners. Indiana already lost on Wednesday, so it's out of chances to impress, which gives OU more opportunity to get past the Hoosiers.
As outrageous as it seems for the Sooners to even be in this position after doing everthing wrong most of SEC play, everything is now going right for Porter Moser's team at the perfect time.