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Could the Sooners really reach the Final 4? Several people the cover college basketball for ESPN seem to think so. Here is the tweet to prove it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>So <a href="https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN">@GoodmanESPN</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAndyKatz">@ESPNAndyKatz</a> have Oklahoma in the Final Four: <a href="http://t.co/mku7HIHkJO">http://t.co/mku7HIHkJO</a> <a href="http://t.co/AYe8dKwO7c">pic.twitter.com/AYe8dKwO7c</a></p>— Dane Beavers (@DaneBeavers) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaneBeavers/status/577279168871690240">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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To reach this vaulted position the Sooners would have to overcome some major postseason demons. We all know the postseason hasn't been kind to Lon Kruger during his tenure as the Sooners head coach. One big 12 tournament is all he has to show for his efforts up to this point. Beginning Friday evening at 6:27pm central on TruTV, however could (and by all accounts should) be Lon's shot at redemption.
When the selections were announced on Sunday, my immediate reaction was like many: I was ecstatic. The Sooners found themselves getting a 3 seed (which we thought they were going to be a 4) and landing in what appears to be the bracket with the easiest path to the Final Four. Who would you rather have in your bracket (Duke/Gonzaga, Kentucky/Kansas, Wisconsin/Arizona, or Nova/UVA)? Most if not all would choose the Nova/UVA bracket.
Assuming the Sooners make it to the Sweet 16, and if they were to beat the Hoos, we would see the Sooner men's basketball program enter into rare territory. They would reach the elite 8 for only the 9th time. A match-up with a team such as Villanova/Louisville/Northern Iowa would then await. While none of those teams are slouches, they don't have near the firepower of say Wisconsin, Duke, Arizona, or Kentucky. This year could mark the return of the Sooners to the Final Four (their first since 2002). A Final 4 match-up could give the Sooners a chance to right the missed lay-up by Spangler against the Cyclones.
The coaches know it, the players know it. This year's tourney can all but exercise all the postseason demons that have surrounded the team over the past few years. It truly is a chance at more.