Since March began, college basketball fans have been pleading with someone (anyone! ) near the NCAA Tournament bubble to make a push for the bracket. For the most part, tournament candidates have failed. Indiana’s defeat to Northwestern, Texas’ collapse against Ole Miss, and Stanford’s loss in its ACC Tournament game to Pittsburgh have all become standard fare.
If there’s one school that appears like it actually wants to participate in March Madness next week, it’s Oklahoma. The Sooners have raced onto the field with six consecutive victories, five of which were by double digits, and eight wins in their previous ten games.
Oklahoma’s 83-63 thrashing of Texas A&M on Thursday night was the school’s fourth victory over a conference opponent vying for an at-large bid (Auburn, Texas, Missouri) since February 24. Those victories have, in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s assessment, placed the Sooners on the NCAA Tournament cut line. He currently has Oklahoma as his first choice for the bracket.
Lunardi dubbed tonight’s SEC quarterfinal between Oklahoma and Arkansas the “most important game of the day. ” A victory over the Razorbacks “could put the Sooners in the [NCAA Tournament]. ” A victory for Arkansas would likely keep John Calipari’s squad in consideration for a No. 4 seed in the competition. The Razorbacks and Sooners face off at approximately 9:30 p. m. ET (SEC Network).
