Oklahoma men's basketball made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in the 22 seasons before Porter Moser became head coach of the Sooners. They missed out for three straight seasons, but returned last season for the first time under Moser. They're hoping to make it back-to-back appearances this March.
Among the sports personalities and services that like to prognosticate things like what teams will be participating in the NCAA Tournament well in advance, there seems to be a notable difference of opinion about Oklahoma's chances of making it back to the Big Dance this season.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi, considered by many to be the grand poobah of NCAA Tournament bracketology, has the Sooners on the proverbial "bubble" at No. 68, or the final team to make the tournament, in his most recent projections on Tuesday. That's actually a gradual upgrade from his "first team out," "first four out," and "next four out" positioning for the Sooners in his periodic postings since the college basketball season tipped off in early November.
Joe Lunardi still has Oklahoma on March Madness bubble
By contrast, Mike DeCourcy of FOX Sports apparently has a little more faith in Oklahoma's NCAA Tournament chances this season. Earlier this week, he projected the Sooners as a No. 8 seed, which would rank them in the 28-32 range of the 68 teams to make the tournament field. USA Today had the Sooners as a 10-seed to begin the season.
The sports analytics website Team Rankings gives Oklahoma little chance of making it back to this year's NCAA Tournament, projecting the Sooners to finish the season with an 18-13 overall record and just a 10% chance of making the tournament field. Moreover, the site gives 13 of the 16 SEC teams a better chance to make the tournament than OU, with eight SEC teams projected to make it in to the 68-team tournament field.
With the new year now in full swing and the more competitive conference season underway in earnest, it will be at least a couple of months before the Sooners' postseason future will be decided. Oklahoma is off to a good start, however, with a 12-4 record and a home SEC win already on the card, but then dropped one to Mississippi State on Wednesday night.
But the Sooners are not and have not yet been ranked this season in the Associated Press Top 25 or in the Coaches Poll, despite the fact that there are seven teams, including three from the SEC, with at least three losses in this week's AP rankings.
Over its highly competitive18-game SEC schedule, Moser and Co. will have plenty of chances to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resume and prove the naysayers wrong, but at this point in the season, the Sooner have some work to do.
Oklahoma ranks 39th in ESPN's most recent Basketball Power Index and 48th in the NCAA NET rankings, a major measurement tool used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The Sooners are 1-2 to date against teams ranked in the top 30 in the NET rankings, considered a Quad 1 win, and just 1-1 in Quad 2 contests (opponents ranked 31-75).
The Sooners have several Quad 1 opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks with home games scheduled at Lloyd Noble Center against Alabama and Arkansas, both currently ranked in the top 15.
There are still plenty of games left to play, more than half the season, and Oklahoma will play all nine other SEC teams Joe Lurnardi projects to make the NCAA Tournament this season. The Sooners' postseason destiny is all right out there in front of them,