For their NCAA tourney future, Sooner women can notch huge win in Fayetteville
Among the things nobody’s bound to call Sunday’s 2 p.m. tussle at Arkansas’ Bud Walton Arena is a “big game.”
The 16th-ranked Oklahoma women have won four straight and Arkansas, which has lost five straight, is at the bottom of the SEC standings, alongside Missouri and Georgia.
The Razorbacks next loss will be their 20th.
Ouch.
Though in Fayetteville, a Sooner loss would still be a shocker and taking that longest-of-shots possibility off the table, the contest could go a few different ways.
OU could play poorly, win a tight game and shrug its shoulders, telling itself it played down to the competition and will shake it off in time for Thursday’s game at Florida, yet another one it should win.
OU could play well enough, win comfortably and push its winning streak to five, continuing its march forward in the conference standings, the national polls and perhaps the NCAA’s NET Rating, too, where it sits 15th, meaning were NCAA tourney bids handed out right now, the Sooners would host the first two rounds at Lloyd Noble Center, a No. 4 seed in whichever regional they’re assigned.
OU’s played well enough several times since SEC play began.
It played that way in a 15-point home-court victory over Texas A&M, a 17-point home-court victory over Missouri and a 10-point victory at Ole Miss.
Last Sunday, at Missouri, it was threatening to play another game like that, while any critically-thinking fan had to be getting tired of it.
In the conference, the Sooners have landed no upsets, falling to Texas, South Carolina, LSU and Kentucky, the SEC’s top four. In victories, also, too often they’ve merely prevailed rather than thrived, getting a win without getting much better.
A week ago in Columbia, the Sooners led 40-34 at the half and, for a change, finally played like the team they frequently were before conference play began, finding a gear they’d hardly found since.
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