Big 12: What Is The Oklahoma Sooners’ Realistic Ceiling?

The Oklahoma Sooners have been through a rollercoaster of convincing triumphs and disappointing defeats over the course of conference play. A 2-0 start to Big 12 play began with back-to-back wins against ranked opponents, which included throttling a top 10 Texas team in Austin 70-49.

A home defeat in overtime to a then underwhelming Kansas State club sparked a two-game skid and four losses in five games, with Oklahoma going 1-3 in ranked matchups.

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This time a week ago, Joe Buettner of FanSided’s Stormin’ In Norman blog was discussing the possibility of the Sooners being in danger of missing out of the NCAA tournament, which perfectly shows how up-and-down of a season it had been before this recent stretch of victories.

The Sooners have since stretched out a three-game winning streak and are coming fresh off a considerable win against No. 15 West Virginia 71-52 in Norman, realistically making Oklahoma the second hottest team in the Big 12 right now, which is something worthy of praise. This has all equated out to a top 25 ranking with a 15-7 (6-4) record, which places Oklahoma at fourth in the Big 12 race.

Oklahoma has a fairly comfortable schedule remaining, which could make for an amazing conference finish for the Sooners, but with a handful of very loseable games throughout, what is a realistic expectation for the remainder of the streaking Sooners season?

When you look at Oklahoma’s final eight games of the season, there are several games where the eye test is in complete favor of the Sooners. Teams such as TCU, Kansas State and Texas Tech are all included in that list.

Oklahoma begins this final stretch of the season on the road against a very capable TCU team. But capable and actually winning are two completely different things, which is clearly visible with the Horned Frogs’ 1-8 record in conference play. Outside of an upset in Fort Worth, the Sooners will face off with No. 11 Iowa State after a fourth straight win, whom they will see twice this season.

Neither of their two Matchups with the Cyclones are really must wins, but that is if Oklahoma is to win most of, if not all of the games they’re expected to win until the regular season concludes.

Following the Iowa State game, Oklahoma enters a stretch of four games that could very well spark another four-game winning streak, if they even drop their home game against the Cyclones. They will see Kansas State in a rematch of their first conference loss. With the Wildcats drastically regressing recently, Oklahoma will be the clear favorite in this one.

The Sooners will have a trick game against a Texas team that’s been slumping mightily lately, but still have enough talent to compete with anyone. Texas Tech and TCU then follow, which should be a stretch that results in the Sooners sweeping each season series.

Iowa State and Kansas conclude the season, which although both are winnable, if Oklahoma can win the ones they will be expected to be the favorites in, dropping two of the three against Iowa State and Kansas shouldn’t be a deciding factor in the outcome of the Big 12 regular season race if regards to any hopes Oklahoma has of finishing in the top spot.

Best-case scenario for the Sooners would be finishing second or third in the Big 12 regular season race and winding up with a high seed in the conference tournament. From there, the only thing Oklahoma can do with their hopes on a Big 12 Championship is pray Iowa State doesn’t start surging and playing at an elite level alongside Kansas.

The NCAA tournament is another beast in itself, and it’s far too early to make any predictions with weeks to go in the regular season. But based on the available talent and depth of Oklahoma, the final result of the season would be considered a success with a Sweet 16 appearance to compliment a win or two in the Big 12 tournament.

Next: College Basketball Rankings: Top 25 Teams In America

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