Don’t discount OU’s chances of NCAA Tournament invite, says Bill Self: KU game preview
It says something positive about the Big 12 Conference that the league’s ninth-place men’s basketball team, Oklahoma, enters this weekend’s slate of games as KenPom.com’s No. 54-rated squad (out of 363) in the country.
Yes, the Sooners, who possess a NET ranking of 61, can still be considered a contender for an NCAA Tournament bid despite a 2-9 record in league play and 12-12 overall mark heading into a Saturday home game against No. 9-ranked (No. 12 in KenPom) Kansas (19-5, 7-4).
Tipoff is 12 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center with a live telecast on CBS.
“I think our league right now has a solid eight in. I believe OU is still in the game for sure,” KU coach Bill Self said of the Sooners, a team that has lost six of seven games, the one victory coming 93-69 over No. 2 Alabama on Jan. 28 in Norman.
“They are good enough to be in the tournament — there’s no doubt about that — but they probably are going to have to do something to give the committee a reason besides Alabama to say (they are in).”
As Self pointed out, the Sooners should have a shot to make March Madness considering they were “good enough to have Alabama down by 33, and they are ranked No. 2 in the country.”
“Our league is so good,” Self added, “West Virginia is 4-7 and right now they would be a lock to be in. They are 20 in NET. OU is not quite as high in NET, so they’ll have to do something to show the committee they are one of the better at-large teams not only by NET but by record. They have plenty of opportunities to do so. They are capable, absolutely.”
It goes without saying the Sooners could begin a strong push for a late-season tourney bid Saturday by beating a top 10 team in KU. OU already knows it can play with the Jayhawks. KU trailed the Sooners by 10 points (71-61) with 5:19 left, pulling out a 79-75 come-from-behind win on Jan. 10 at Allen Fieldhouse.
“(The Alabama game) proves in itself they’re dangerous and we’re in the best conference in America top to bottom,” KU senior guard Kevin McCullar said. “Top to bottom this league is stacked. We were down quite a bit to them. We had to reel them in late.”
KJ Adams scored 22 points, Jalen Wilson 17, Dajuan Harris 11 and Zach Clemence 10 as the Jayhawks outscored OU 18-4 to close the game.
Oklahoma was led by Grant Sherfield’s 25 points. Sam Godwin added 12 points, Milos Uzan had 11 and Tanner Groves 10.
Sherfield, a 6-2 senior, hit 9 of 15 shots (1 of 4 threes) and was 6-of-6 from the line versus KU. Tanner Groves had 10 points and 10 rebounds on a day the shots weren’t falling for either team. OU hit 2 of 17 threes to KU’s 4 of 11. The Jayhawks won it at the line, hitting 31 of 39 free thows to OU’s 19 of 23.
“We didn’t do a good job on him the first time. He scored three points from behind the arc and still gets 25,” Self said of Sherfield. “He can go get his own. He got his shoulders past us. He elevated over us. A lot of things he did well the first game we’ve got to be much better at this game.”
The Sooners are coming off Wednesday’s 82-72 loss at Baylor. BU beat OU by just two points in Norman on Jan. 21. OU has had several close games, beating Texas Tech by five in overtime on the road and losing to Texas by one and Iowa State by three in Norman.
“OU is a lot like us,” Self said. “When they play well they are really, really good. When they don’t they’ve had their rough moments. That’s been like us. Their personnel is good.”
The Jayhawks are coming off an 88-80 home win over Texas on Monday in which Wilson scored two points and his teammates 86.
“It’s a positive other guys stepped up,” Self said. “We need Jalen obviously to play like Jalen is capable of playing. He’s been beyond consistent. He’s been great, but it was nice to see somebody pick him up on one out of 24 days he wasn’t great, which is a pretty consistent stat.”
Of Wilson, who is second in the league in scoring (20.2) and rebounding (7.9), Self said: “He’s done everything we’ve needed him to do to give us the best chance.”
KU will return home after the game at OU, then hit the road again Monday afternoon. The Jayhawks will meet Oklahoma State at 8 p.m., Tuesday, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
