That thin ice the Oklahoma women's basketball team was skating on to host NCAA Tournament games inside Lloyd Noble Center is getting a lot thicker as Jennie Baranczyk's squad has nearly clinched home-court advantage.
Last week, OU was considered the No. 16 team in the NCAA's first NET rankings as the final No. 4 seed with hosting rights and was fluctuating between being a hosting No. 4 seed or a traveling No. 5 seed in ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme's projections. In Creme's latest predictions on Tuesday, though, the Sooners are firmly a No. 4 seed after notching a pair of ranked wins last week.
Sooners improve hosting chances in Charlie Creme's latest ESPN Bracketology
With two games left in the regular season, the No. 7 Sooners are riding a four-game winning streak that includes three ranked victories in a row over then-No. 23 Alabama on the road, then-No. 24 Georgia and then-No. 21 Tennessee. The winning streak also bumped the Sooners up to No. 15 in the NET rankings, which are a major factor in NCAA Tournament seeding. Even that slight boost gave OU more cushion to host two NCAA Tournament games at the LNC as top 4 seeds get the first two rounds at home.
Based on Creme's latest bracket projections, the Norman Region would include No. 4 OU, No. 5 West Virginia, No. 12 San Diego State and No. 13 UC Irvine. If both teams were to survive and advance, it would be Bedlam in the Sweet 16 between the Sooners and No. 8 Oklahoma State, but that would require the Cowgirls to upset No. 1 UCLA.
The Sooners seemingly get a breather the rest of the regular season with unranked matchups against Arkansas and Missouri ahead this week. OU will likely enter the SEC Tournament on a six-game winning streak with a chance to improve its NCAA Tournament footing even more as the Sooners are peaking at the perfect time.