Oklahoma women clinch major NCAA Tournament advantage before Selection Sunday

It's going to be a nervous 24 hours for Oklahoma men's basketball as the team waits to learn whether its late-season surge will be enough to get it into the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the only thing its female counterpart will be concerned about looking ahead to Selection Sunday is what its seed will be and who the Sooners will play.

The OU women (24-7) haven't played since March 6, losing 112-76 to LSU in the quarterfinals of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament. Prior to that loss, the Sooners had won seven in a row and eight of their last 10 games.

Charlie Creme, Joe Lunardi's bracketology counterpart at ESPN on the women's side of the bracket, projected Oklahoma as a 4 seed when the official selections are announced on Sunday. That would enable the Sooners to host first- and second-round games in Norman. OU also hosted the tournament's first two rounds a year ago.

That was confirmed on Saturday when OU was announced as a top-16 team and host site ahead of Selection Sunday.

OU women know NCAA Tournament fate while the men sweat it out on the bubble

The Sooners are making their fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, all under Jennie Baranczyk, who is in her fifth season as head coach. OU didn't make it past the second game of the NCAA Tournament the first three seasons under Baranczyk, but the No. 3-seeded Sooners advanced to the Sweet 16 last season before falling 81-59 to 1-seed UConn, which was eventually crowned national champion.

Overall, this year will be Oklahoma's 26th NCAA Tournament appearance and 24th in the last 27 seasons. Over that time, the Sooners have made 11 trips to the Sweet 16, three to the Elite Eight and three other times to the Final Four (2002, 2009 and 2010).

The 2002 Oklahoma team, featuring two-time First-Team All-American Stacey Dales, lost to UConn, 80-72, in the Sooners' only national championship game appearance.

Sooner fans are hopeful that both of their basketball teams will make it into the NCAA Tournament, but they are assured of having at least one. The women's bracket will be revealed on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT, two hours after the men's bracket is announced on the same network.