March Madness: Should the Oklahoma Sooners get a bid based solely on Trae Young?

With the Oklahoma Sooners crumbling at the end of the season, are they worthy of a March Madness bid based solely on having Trae Young on their roster?

With Selection Sunday for March Madness less than two days away, a handful college basketball teams sit on that proverbial bubble, anxiously awaiting their NCAA tournament fate. With teams such as Middle Tennesee State and Nevada both upset in their respective conference tournaments, that bubble keeps shrinking and shrinking.

One of those very teams is the Oklahoma Sooners, who are the epitome of an NCAA tournament bubble team. With a resume resembling that of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it will be interesting to see what the committee reveals come selection Sunday on the fate of the Sooners.

What are the pros and cons of Oklahoma’s case for a ticket to March Madness? The advantages. Two words. Trae Young. The most electric and polarizing player in all of College basketball, the talented guard is must-see TV.

Young leads the nation in both scoring (27.4) and assists per game (8.8). 

He’s single-handedly won games for the Sooners, who boast a plethora of quality wins on their resume. However, does their good outweigh the bad?

The Sooners’ quality wins list competes with any aspiring March Madness bubble team.

Quality wins for the Sooners.

• USC — RPI: 33
• Oregon — RPI: 63
• @ Wichita State — RPI: 14
• TCU (twice) — RPI: 24
• Oklahoma State — RPI: 86
• Texas Tech — RPI: 20
• Kansas — RPI: 7
• Baylor — RPI: 64
• Kansas State — RPI: 52

Pros for the Sooners as an NCAA tournament team

• 10 quality wins
• 22nd-best Strength of Schedule
• No losses to sub 150 RPI teams
• Finished sixth in the top-ranked RPI conference in College basketball

Cons for the Sooners as an NCAA tournament team

• Lost eight for their final ten games (Not a determining at-large criterion, however.)
• Losing Big 12 record: 8-11 (Also, not a determining at-large criterion.)
• 3-4 record against other NCAA tournament bubble teams (USC, Oregon, Baylor, Texas)

After weighing the pros and cons, the future is still clouded for Oklahoma. Could Trae Young be what puts them into March Madness, even though it should not be determining a factor? No doubt his presence will allow them to make the big dance, which would be ridiculous.

The NCAA tournament Selection committee also stated that an aspiring at-large team’s Conference record is also not part of the criteria. So, based on their body of work alone, does Oklahoma deserve to be in the field of 68? Honestly, I keep going back and forth on this one. So, the just thing to do, we would be putting the Sooners in the Opening Round games in Dayton, Ohio and go from that point.

Next: At-large bids should be determined before Conference tourneys

A March Madness team’s inclusion should not be decided based on the star-power of their team, but, on their total body of work. The Oklahoma Sooners case is a curious one, and it will be interesting to see what the NCAA tournament Selection committee decides when the brackets are released on Selection Sunday.

Even though it’s not right, Trae Young will be what separates the Sooners from the rest of the at-large teams. If I had the deciding vote, the Sooners would be the last team in the field — giving them the toughest road to the Final Four in San Antonio. But, Trae Young would NOT be my reason for including them as a participant in March Madness.