In a loaded Feast Week of action, several Big 12 schools will head to a neutral site to take on all comers and hopefully build their resumes. Let’s take a look at each, this time with Oklahoma in the Bahamas.
Catching Up: Oklahoma opened its season led by an impressive performance from junior Buddy Hield. Hield, a likely All-Big 12 first teamer, scored 25 points and hit seven 3-pointers in the Sooners’ 25 point win over Southeastern Louisiana. However, Oklahoma stumbled on the road against Creighton in their second game when they gave up an 18 point lead in the second half and fell to the Bluejays in Omaha. OU bounced back against Northwestern State behind 20 points from junior Isaiah Cousins. The addition of TaShawn Thomas gave the Sooners one of the best starting fives in the Big 12 and although Thomas hasn’t lived up to the expectations yet (averaging just 8.0 points 4.3 rebounds per game), expect him to get acclimated to coach Lon Kruger’s system in the near future.
Opening Round Preview: Oklahoma opens the tournament on Wednesday afternoon when they square off with Steve Alford’s UCLA squad. Alford has his team playing well and ranked in both of the top 25 polls. The Bruins have started the season with one of the top 10 offenses in the country according to KenPom with five players averaging double figure points through four games. Two of those players, Bryce Alford and Norman Powell, are scoring over 20 points per game. The good news for Oklahoma is that the Bruins have played one of the worst schedules in Division I so far. UCLA’s first four games rank 328th in strength of schedule according to KenPom. On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma should be able to challenge the perimeter players of UCLA with the likes of Hield, Cousins, and Jordan Woodard. The Sooners possess the outside shooting (40.9 percent on 3-pointers) to challenge the Bruins should Steve Alford choose to play zone and are balanced enough with the addition of Thomas against a man-to-man defense. With two high powered offenses, this contest will likely be a fan-pleasing, high-scoring affair. A win would bolster the resume of either team and, in particular, would be a great way for the Sooners to bounce back from their defeat at Creighton.
Key Resume Opportunities: A win against UCLA alone is a good resume opportunity for Oklahoma, but should they get past the Bruins, additional potential quality wins await. The Battle 4 Atlantis field features two top 10 teams in Wisconsin and North Carolina as well as Florida, another top 25 team, and Georgetown, a team close to breaking into the polls. If Oklahoma wins on Wednesday, they would likely get a shot at North Carolina who should defeat Butler in the first game. Even if the Sooners lose their opening matchup, they could see a game against Georgetown or Florida on the last day of the tournament if the pieces fall into place. With such a high quality field, the resume opportunities are endless. If Hield and the backcourt get hot, Oklahoma could go on a run that would solidify their NCAA Tournament resume. The good news for the Sooners is that only once in the last three years have to top-ranked teams at the Battle 4 Atlantis reached the finals to play each other.
Outlook: UCLA represents a tough test for Oklahoma out of the gate, but despite being ranked behind the Bruins in the polls, the Sooners certainly have the potential and talent to knock them off in the first round game. I look for Oklahoma to pull off the first round win before falling to North Carolina in the second round, putting them into a matchup against either Georgetown or Florida, assuming Wisconsin takes care of business in the semifinals. That would give the Sooners another opportunity for an important resume win that they can take advantage of with some hot outside shooting. The Oklahoma offense gives them the ability to be in every game this season, it’s just a matter of playing enough defense to hold off their opponents. A few wins in the Bahamas would serve Oklahoma well as it crafts its early season resume.