The road of the NCAA Tournament goes through Norman for the Oklahoma women's basketball team, and senior center Raegan Beers is the driver that will get the Sooners to their destination, whether that be shorter or longer than their expected jouney.
The Sooners earned a No. 4 seed and hosting rights for the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row after making a run to the Sweet 16 last season, and to get further this time, or even back there, OU has to have a consistent Beers, even if freshman Aaliyah Chavez is the one leading the Sooners with 18.4 points a game.
Raegan Beers is the Sooners' March Madness difference maker
There's an obvious benefit that doesn't show up on stat sheets with Beers being a four-year veteran with already two NCAA Tournament appearances under her belt. That's especially crucial as seven of OU's 11 players are underclassmen. However, the most obvious of Beers' stats could be the most underrated for the Sooners' success.
The Sooners are 24-7 this season with only losses to ranked teams. Of OU's seven losses this season, in only one of them did Beers reach her scoring average of 15.7 points. Simply, especially in big-time matchups, if Beers underperforms, her team usually does, as well.
During OU's first March Madness experience in the SEC Tournament, the Sooners handled Florida 82-64 as Beers led the way with 18 points. In the quarterfinals, though, Beers scored only six points as LSU blew out OU 112-78.
In the Sooners' biggest win of the season, a 94-82 overtime upset of South Carolina, Beers posted a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Gamecocks got the top seed in OU's corner of the bracket, which means if the Sooners want to get past the Sweet 16, they'll have to beat the Gamecocks again in Sacramento, California.
Beyond that, OU will likely have No. 2 Iowa or No. 3 TCU waiting in the Elite Eight. Defending national champion and top overall seed UConn, which ended the Sooners' tournament run last year, is the most likely Final Four matchup.
The Sooners don't need Beers to be spectacular to get past No. 13 Idaho in the first round at 9 p.m. CT Friday, but a dip in production from Beers could put the Sooners in danger of an upset as early as the second round against No. 5 Michigan State. Then, if the Sooners get out of the Norman Region alive, anything less of Beers' best will be the difference in OU getting to or getting past last year's marker.