Very few, if any, preseason polls and preview publications, had the Sooners making the NCAA Tournament field, largely because a roster turnover that included the departure of eight seniors.
Even the Big 12 head coaches didn’t show much respect for how Oklahoma would finish in the standings, picking the Sooners to finish eighth out of 10 teams in the conference standings.
Before the season started, ESPN college football analyst Jay Bilas projected the top 68 college basketball teams for the new season. Oklahoma was not among them.
ESPN “Bracketology” headmaster Joe Lunardi projects an NCAA Tournament bracket at periodic intervals before and during the college basketball season.