March Madness 2019: 10 teams that will bust your bracket

No. 7: Oklahoma Sooners

The easiest thing to say about this season for the Oklahoma Sooners is that it has been far from a smooth ride for the team coming into the 2019 NCAA Tournament. That being said, they have now landed a spot in March Madness for the sixth time in their last seven seasons, and have been rewarded with a No. 9 seed.

The No. 9 seed lands the team, led by top scorers Christian James, Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle, with a contest against the No. 9 seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs. The committee gave the benefit of the doubt to the Sooners after they struggled through what ranked in as the 29th hardest schedule in the NCAA this year.

The Sooners started out Big 12 play ranked No. 23 after starting a nearly-perfect 11-1, with wins over Wichita State, USC and Northwestern. They then dropped four of their first six conference games in a tough manner. Their season has included five straight losses against Big 12 opponents, one of which was a 30-point loss to Baylor.

Though I’m saying they were overrated in terms of tournament position this year, Oklahoma has perhaps over-achieved after losing one of the front-runners for Player of the Year in the NBA, Trae Young in 2018. OU landed some promising recruits, and worked their way back to the tournament this year.

That being said, a No. 9 seed is too high for the Oklahoma State Sooners. Seven teams from the Big 12 made the tournament this year, and OU landed in as one of them. Lon Kruger and staff, however, have definitely not done enough with the development of this year’s team. It will be interesting to see how this young, talented team holds up in this year’s competition, starting with a tough game against Mississippi State.