OU in the NCAA tournament?
Published: 12/16/2011 7:41 AM
Last Modified: 12/16/2011 7:41 AM
I'm not seeing it. Oklahoma making the NCAA tournament means going 9-9 in the Big 12 Conference, maybe 8-10. As well as the Sooners have played to this point – and I made clear how well they were playing in Thursday's World – going .500 in conference games seems too much to ask.
Here's the thing, though: The fact that the Sooners are even in NCAA discussion is fairly miraculous. And they are in the discussion.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has OU in his latest mock tournament. He seeds the Sooners 11th in the South Regional, and sends them to Louisville to open against No. 6-seed Illinois.
Lunardi leaves Oklahoma State out. He leaves Texas out. Kansas State as well. OU is in. Crazy.
It's one guy doing a pre-Christmas projection. But for anybody to stick a team many (my hand is up) felt would do well to make the NIT in an NCAA bracket, at ANY point of this season, is a sign of Lon Kruger's progress just eight months into the job.
Jason King of ESPN.com called it "one of the better coaching jobs in the country" earlier this week. He also wrote: "If Oklahoma keeps this up, it could find itself on the NCAA tournament bubble come March. No one could've predicted that."
That we all can agree on.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
