The Oklahoma Sooners are primed to take over the number ranking in men’s college basketball after #1 UCONN was beaten by #4 Pitt on Monday night 76-68. That could make the upcoming showdown with Missouri all the more interesting.
The Sooners will not play again until after the new rankings come out next Monday. They’ll play at Texas who is free falling in the Big 12 South on Monday the 23rd, then host KU two days later which will make for a quick turnaround.
Then, before the Sooners play Missouri they have one more game with Texas Tech who they beat by 21. Mizzou will host OU on March 4 th . I’m hoping for Sooner success in their next three games to keep them at that number one spot for the showdown with Missouri.
Another important game was the Texas A & M-Texas game last night. With the Longhorns losing, that gave them five losses which are important to the Tigers in terms of seeding for the Big 12 tournament.
Mizzou is 9-2 now in Big 12 play and both Texas and K-State have five losses and the Tiger schedule gets tough. After this road trip at Colorado, the Tigers will play K-State at home, at KU, vs. OU, and at Texas A & M.
MU should beat the Buffs, I think K-State is a tossup, at KU will be tough, and so will the Sooner game. If you watched last night, you know how good A & M can be on their home floor. So, if the Tigers can manage to go 2-3 the rest of the way out, they’ll finish with five Big 12 losses which will clinch one of the top four spots in the Big 12 and guarantee a bye in the first round of tournament play.
Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the Tigers ranking at 11th, but let’s be a bit realistic too. Kansas gave Missouri a win with their second half collapse. The Tigers have not played well in the first half in several games this year, and despite the "new 7", five of them are freshmen and we’ve yet to see them play a tough team on the road. Don’t count Texas, we’re beginning to find out just how poor they are and Zaire Taylor needed a game winner late to steal that win as well as the KU game.
The next couple of weeks are going to show us if Missouri is for real. The regular season schedule is brutal followed by the Big 12 Tournament. We’ll see if this team is worthy of a near top 10 ranking and worthy of a five or better seed in the NCAA Tournament.
