A win would’ve locked up an NCAA Tournament spot, but Oklahoma will now have to wait for Selection Sunday to discover its postseason fate.

A win would’ve all but locked up a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but the Oklahoma Sooners came up just short, falling to the Texas Tech Red Raiders by a score of 56-55.

Having turned it over 11 times in the first half yet again, Oklahoma fittingly entered the intermission trailing by 11. A lot of teams would have folded in that situation when facing a team of Tech caliber, but this team has been nothing if not resilient for the entirety of Porter Moser’s first season, and they simply seized control of the game for the majority of the second half. It reached a point in which Tech almost looked helpless offensively, and when OU began limiting turnovers on the other end, you knew this would become a thriller.

Oklahoma would lead by a score of 47-44 with 7:25 remaining, but Tech would answer with a 6-0 run of its own to flip the deficit. From that point forward, it was a slugfest between two fatigued fighters. A few questionable calls down the stretch helped Tech secure a 56-54 advantage in the closing moments before Jacob Groves was sent to the line with a pair of free throws. The first one went down, but the second would have to be tipped out for an offensive rebound. It ended up in the hands of Umoja Gibson, who drove it to the basket before being tangled up as time expired.

Oklahoma entered the game right in the middle of the NCAA Tournament bubble, and very little went the Sooners’ way in the other tournaments. Texas A&M’s win over Auburn, Indiana’s win over Illinois and Virginia Tech’s win over North Carolina could indeed prove costly, and OU will certainly be sweating it on Selection Sunday. I think this team deserves a bid, and I think the NET ranking might end up carrying them into the Big Dance in the end, but I’d probably call it a coin flip at this point.

March Madness, indeed.

Oklahoma has placed itself right on the bubble, but an upset of Texas Tech would surely send the Sooners dancing.

With a huge win over the Baylor Bears, the Oklahoma Sooners have placed themselves right on the bubble, but an upset of the Texas Tech Red Raiders will surely send them dancing.

Oklahoma (18-14, 7-11) vs. Texas Tech (24-8, 12-6): Friday, 8:30 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Mo.)

TV/Live Stream: ESPN+

Commentary: Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Kris Budden

Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing

Line: Texas Tech -7.5 per DraftKings

Quick Notes

• Bracketology: Oklahoma currently sits in the “First Four Out” in the most recent bracket entry from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Additionally, OU is in the field in 45 of 129 major bracket submissions on Bracket Matrix (sourced from various publications and pundits) prior to the vital tilt with Texas Tech. The Sooners would likely still be in the conversation with a loss tonight, but a win would make them all but a shoe-in.
• Elsewhere: Some breaks have gone against the Sooners today (Texas A&M over Auburn, Indiana over Illinois), and fellow bubble team Dayton narrowly avoided a loss to 10-seed UMass in the A10 Tournament. However, OU fans can still root for losses from Wyoming (vs. Boise State, 8:30 p.m. CT), SMU (vs. Tulsa, currently in progress), Virginia Tech (vs. North Carolina, 8:30 p.m. CT), and VCU (vs. Richmond, 7:30 p.m. CT) as the night goes on.
• Prediction: I’m not sure the Sooners continue their Cinderella run tonight, but my hunch is that OU’s stellar NET ranking is being undersold by a number of notable pundits. My guess? OU falls in a valiant effort tonight, gets one of the last bids in the tournament and makes an appearance in Dayton next week. No matter how those chips fall, you have to be proud of how this team has fought down the stretch, and Porter Moser deserves a tip of the cap.