Oklahoma is coming off of one of their more shaky weeks of the entire season with losses each of the last two times out against Kansas State and Oklahoma State. The skid has dropped the Sooners down to No. 16 in the latest AP Poll going into the final week of regular season action.
Also taking a dip is their seed projection in the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology. A No. 3 seed for most of the last several weeks that was steadily climbing into the conversation for a possible No. 2 spot, Oklahoma is now saddled with a No. 4 seed in the East Region in the fresh projections.
The Sooners would be lined up against No. 13 seed UC-Santa Barbara in the first round with their potential second round opponent being the winner of the matchup between No. 5 Virginia and No. 12 Connecticut or Virginia Commonwealth (play-in game). While the drop in seed is obviously troubling going into the final games before Selection Sunday, Oklahoma would get the fortune of avoiding the big three teams in the country of Gonzaga, Michigan and Baylor if this was how the bracket shook out.
Illinois is the listed No. 1 seed in the East Region. So while the Sooners certainly don’t want a dip in their seed line, avoiding the the juggernauts of the top-3 teams in the country in their region may be worth the trade off.
Oklahoma will run it back with the No. 17 Cowboys tonight in Stillwater in a massive game with heavy tournament implications.
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