It was just last year the Oklahoma women's basketball team narrowly survived a scare from a possible Cinderella in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A three-point victory and one year later, the Sooners get Florida Gulf Coast again.
Unlike last time in Bloomington, Indiana, the 3-seed Sooners are hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Lloyd Noble Center, but again get the Eagles in the opening round on Saturday. This time, FGCU got a 14-seed and a trip to Norman.
The Sooners barely beat FGCU 73-70 last year in the first round thanks to a missed 3-point attempt at the buzzer. OU then lost to 4-seed Indiana 75-68 in the second round on the Hoosiers' home court.
OU gets home-court advantage this time at Lloyd Noble Center. History is also in the Sooners' favor, as a 14-seed has never upset a 3-seed before in the women's tournament in 122 such matchups. However, it was the men from FGCU who became the first 15-seed to ever make the Sweet 16 in 2013.
FGCU enters the NCAA Tournament at 30-3 and hasn't lost since Dec. 16 while on a 23-game winning streak. The Eagles have received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for 11 straight weeks.
These Eagles have the perfect mixture for an upset run with being on a roll, having tournament experience and being dangerous from beyond the arc.
The Eagles have made every NCAA Tournament since 2017, other than when the tournament was canceled in 2020. Usually an underdog as a mid-major program, FGCU is the winningest 12-seed in women's tournament history with three wins.
FGCU is a top-20 team with 285 made 3-pointers this season while shooting 33.6% from long range. OU shoots 32.3% from deep. The Eagles average 8.6 3-pointers a game, compared to OU at 8.5. FGCU's Dolly Cairns makes 44.9% of her 3-point attempts.
The recipe is there for the Eagles, the Sooners just can't let them cook.