March Madness isn't a complete washout for Oklahoma basketball. The Sooner women will be "Dancing" for the third straight year under head coach Jennie Barancyzk.
The Sooners women (22-9, 15-3) are the No. 5 seed in the Albany Region of the NCAA Women's Tournament and are matched up against No. 12 Florida Gulf Atlantic in Bloomington, Indiana, on Saturday.
The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT tip off at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, home of the No. 4 seed Indiana Hoosiers, and will be televised on ESPN News.
Oklahoma will be wise not to underestimate its first-round opponent. The Eagles of FGU (29-4, 16-0) have won 22 straight games entering the NCAA Tournament and won their seventh consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference championship this season.
This will be the first meeting all-time between OU and FGU. The Sooners, however, are 4-0 all-time against Atlantic Sun teams and 18-4 in first-round games in the NCAA Tournament. The Oklahoma women are 30-8 in the tournament against lower-seeded teams and are 3-0 in the opening round a No. 5 seed.
Five more things to know about Lady Sooners' 1st round NCAA game
- Oklahoma has been a No. 5 seed in all three of head coach Jennie Barancyzk's three seasons as the Sooners' head coach, and OU has advanced to the second round in each of the previous two. Florida Gulf Atlantic has won back-to-back first-round games in the NCAA Women's Tournament and is the winningest all-time No. 12 seed in tournament history.
- The Oklahoma women enter the NCAA Women's Championship ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 21 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll.
- OU senior Skylar Vann was voted the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Louisville transfer Payton Verhulst Newcomer of the Year in the conference and Jennie Barancyzk Coach of the Year.
- The Bloomington Pod is the only first- and second-round site in the Albany 1 Region in the NCAA Women's Tournament that features three teams ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 14 Indiana, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 25 Fairfield.
- If the Lady Sooners defeat FGU and advance to the second round on Monday they will face either No. 14 Indiana or No. 25 Fairfield.