Bubble Watch: Did Oklahoma basketball get off the bubble with Texas Tech win?

Oklahoma basketball earned a big win over Texas Tech this week, but was it enough to get them off the bubble for the NCAA Tournament?

Oklahoma basketball fans may want to break out their dancin’ shoes.

The bubble has been oddly static this year with very little movement up or down it for most of the season. One team that has found itself squarely on the bubble has been Oklahoma, which hasn’t done much to distinguish itself in a down year for the Big 12.

The conference has three top dogs in Baylor, Kansas and West Virginia with the former likely receiving No. 1 seeds. Oklahoma has been the fifth-best team in the league behind the aforementioned trio and Texas Tech, but the Sooners made a big statement by topping the Red Raiders on Tuesday night.

Oklahoma was on the right side of the bubble according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology before the win and could now be safe from the First Four.

A win wasn’t in doubt after Oklahoma built a 10-point lead at the break. The Sooners played smothering defense, limiting Texas Tech to just 51 points on 33.3 percent shooting, a sign that they are capable of playing with the top teams in the country in March.

That victory will help the Sooners’ chances in the eyes of the selection committee, but Oklahoma’s NET rating of 49 indicates they are right near the cut line. Oklahoma is also just 4-9 against Quad I opponents, which is a bad sign since that record indicates they haven’t taken advantage of their quality win opportunities.

The best win Oklahoma has is a four-point home win over West Virginia, which is better than a lot of teams have, but having their second-best result coming at home over Texas Tech isn’t great.

There are also bad losses for the committee to consider with Oklahoma, namely road defeats at Iowa State and Oklahoma State. Both programs are well below .500 in Big 12 play and those stink bombs offset some of the good work that Oklahoma has done otherwise.

The non-conference schedule also is a problem for Oklahoma, which didn’t schedule super aggressively and blew its best opportunities for quality wins with losses to Creighton and Wichita State.

Oklahoma’s best result in the non-conference season was probably a win at Minnesota, which is fading fast with the Golden Gophers’ slide off the bubble. The net positive for Oklahoma is they are within a game of .500 in a competitive conference and enter the weekend at 17-11 overall so they have chances to keep building their resume.

Saturday’s game at West Virginia is massive for Oklahoma, which would earn a huge resume boost by completing a season sweep of the Mountaineers. Even if the Sooners can’t get that game, picking up wins against Texas and at TCU next week would ensure Oklahoma finishes the regular season with a 19-12 record.

Those results would also guarantee that Oklahoma enters the Big 12 tournament with a .500 conference record, likely securing a third shot at either Texas Tech or West Virginia in the first round. That game would be a great opportunity for Oklahoma, which can’t lose much by dropping it but also can gain a ton by securing that marquee win and a shot at either Kansas or Baylor.

In terms of their overall status, Oklahoma falls firmly into the “work to do” category. A few key wins down the stretch, combined with the victories over Texas Tech and West Virginia, will likely be enough for the Sooners to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Anything less than that could leave Oklahoma sweating on Selection Sunday.

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