No. 25 Oklahoma basketball (14-9, 9-8) closed the regular season on a four-game losing streak that saw them slide down both the rankings and the Big 12 standings. Because of the dip, the Sooners have found themselves as just the No. 7 seed in the annual conference tournament thus forcing them to play in the opening round on Wednesday night as opposed to getting a bye like the each of the top-6 teams do.
Awaiting Oklahoma in the first round is Iowa State (2-21, 0-18) who certainly had a very tough season that saw them go winless in league play throughout the year. Despite that, the Cyclones did give the Sooners competitive games in each of their two regular season meetings.
The first matchup back on Feb. 6 in Norman was competitive to the final minutes with Oklahoma getting the 79-72 win. The second game came just two weeks later in Ames and saw the Sooners jump out to a big first half lead before Iowa State came storming back to even briefly hold an advantage themselves in the second half before Oklahoma righted the ship and pulled away late.
Needless to say, the Sooners desperately need to find a way to win this game. Removing the fact that they are on a four-game losing streak and simply need victories to try and get some confidence before the NCAA Tournament, a loss to a squad with two wins and zero conference victories at this point in the season is just inexcusable for a team with any postseason aspirations.
For this first round game of the 2021 Big 12 Tournament, here is everything you need to know:
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. CT (Approximate)
WHERE: Kansas City, Missouri (T-Mobile Center)
HOW TO WATCH: ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla & Holly Rowe)
HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network – 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App (Toby Rowland & Kevin Henry)
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