Oklahoma makes its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth consecutive under head coach Jennie Baranczyk when the Sooner women host Florida Gulf Coast in an opening-round game on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
The Sooners (25-7) come in as the No. 3 seed in the Spokane Region and serve as a host site for first-and second-round games. OU is serving as one of the 16 host sites for the opening weekend for the eighth time in program history.
FGCU (30-3) won an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament as champion of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Eagles are a 14-seed.
These same two programs were matched up against each other in the opening round of last year's NCAA Tournament. The No. 5 Sooners came away the victory, 73-70, as FGCU missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to preserve the victory and advance OU to the second round, where it lost to No. 4 Indiana.
Oklahoma enters the tournament having won nine of its last 10 games. The 3-seed is the Sooners' highest tournament seed since the 2010 Final Four season.
FGCU has won 23 consecutive games, including a perfect 18-0 record while winning the Atlantic Sun Conference title. The Eagles' last loss was on Dec. 16, 58-49, to Montana State. Surprisingly, FGCU began the season with two straight losses. It has won 30 of 31.
Saturday's OU-FGCU contest is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT and will be on ESPNU. If the Sooners get by the Eagles on Saturday, they will face the winner of No. 6 Iowa and No. 11 Murray State on Monday.
What fans need to know
Oklahoma
- The Sooners average 85.2 points a game, fourth-best in Division-I women's basketball. Oklahoma has three starters who average at least 10 points a game: junior center Reagan Beers (17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds), senior guard Payton Verhulst (14.9 points, 5.8 rebounds) and sophomore forward Sahara Williams (9.3 points).
- Oklahoma is 20-7 all-time when being seeded third or higher in the NCAA Tournament and is 5-2 as a 3-seed. The Sooners are 32-8 in the tournament when playing a lower seed.
- The Sooners are able to score a lot of points because they pull down a lot of rebounds. OU ranks No. 2 in Division-I basketball, averaging 46.7 rebounds per game with a rebounding margin of +11.7. The Sooners are 20-3 this season when they outrebound their opponent.
- OU is 16-1 in four seasons under head coach Jennie Baranczyk in games decided by one possession (three points or fewer) and has come back from double-digit deficits to win 17 times.
Florida Gulf Coast
- The women's basketball program at FGCU began in 2002-03. Since that time, the Eagles have crafted a record of 549-101. That's a winning percentage of .845, the best in women's Division-I basketball (UConn is next at .799, but over 48 seasons).
- Senior Emani Jefferson leads FGCU in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game, and shoots 35% from 3-point range. She was ASUN Player of the Year the last two seasons. She is one of three Eagle starters who average at least 10 points a game. Lauryn Taylor (10.1) and Khamari Mitchell-Steen (10) are the other two.
- The Eagles are tied for 17th nationally in made 3-point field goals this season (285) and 21st in average per game (8.6). Oklahoma ranks 25th with 8.5 per game.
- This is FGCU's 11th NCAA Tournament appearances in 20 seasons. The Eagles are 4-10 in their 11 appearances.
Prediction
Florida Gulf Coast gave OU a run for its money in last year's NCAA Tournament, and the Eagles appear to be even stronger this time around.
But this is a stronger Oklahoma team, as well. The Sooners win and advance to a second-round game for the 21st time in 25 NCAA Tournament appearances and for a fourth consecutive season.