Oklahoma basketball: Sooners continue slaying giants with upset of Alabama

Oklahoma basketball netted its fourth top-10 victory of January by upsetting Alabama.

One of the highlights of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge was the matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma. The Sooners got bad news to start the day when two starters, including leading scorer Austin Reaves, were ruled out due to the coronavirus health and safety protocols but still managed to deliver an excellent performance in a 66-61 victory over the Crimson Tide.

The victory was Oklahoma’s fourth of the month against a Top 10 opponent, making them the third team ever to pull off that feat. The Sooner’s last three victories have come against No. 9 Kansas, No. 5 Texas and new No. 9 Alabama, an extremely impressive run that should send Oklahoma surging in the polls this week.

Those three teams have all been in the mix for the top line in the NCAA Tournament, which raises the question as to whether or not Oklahoma should be getting that type of consideration. Lon Kruger’s team usually wins with an explosive offense but their effort today was extremely impressive as the Sooners managed to grind out a win without two key starters.

Are the Sooners a threat to win the Big 12?

The next question for the Sooners is whether or not they can make a run in the Big 12. Oklahoma has quietly surged into third place in the conference, ahead of both Kansas and West Virginia. Undefeated Baylor is still on top of the heap and is coming to Norman on Feb. 10, a matchup that should have enormous ramifications in the Big 12 race.

There are also plenty of opportunities to rack up marquee victories with Texas Tech, Texas and West Virginia still on the schedule. The Sooners would probably stack up somewhere along the 3 or 4 line in the bracket right now but could get in the mix for a 2-seed if they keep racking up impressive victories like the ones they picked up in January.

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