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On Wednesday night, the Oklahoma Sooners were once again knocked out of the Big 12 Championship in the opening round. Coming into the day, most felt pretty solid about OU’s resume in regards to making the NCAA Tournament, but after a disappointing and mind-boggling exit at the hands of last-place West Virginia, how do the bracketology experts of the world seed the Crimson & Cream?
Chris Dobbertean of SB Nation currently has Oklahoma as a No. 9 seed, but admits that the underwhelming limp to the finish line could end up costing the team in positioning on Selection Sunday.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports projects OU as a No. 10 seed, dropping down a spot after the loss to the Mountaineers.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN also envisions the Sooners with a 10 next to their name on Sunday.
If you happen to care about Oklahoma making the Big Dance, you might want to keep an eye out for the other teams on the bubble and hope that they, too, fall out of the picture with a bad loss before it’s officially deliberation time. If nothing else, just keep those fingers crossed.
Now to today’s Hot Links! Kliff Kingsbury texted Kyler Murray the other day, Adrian Peterson agreed to a two-year deal with Washington, Zion Williamson is back and more!
OU Links
- In case you missed it, here’s my quick rundown of Kyler Murray’s performance at the OU Pro Day. The overwhelming response of those watching was positive, and it only bolstered the rising belief that he could become the second Heisman Trophy winner out of Oklahoma in as many years to go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. I also talked about the other Sooners’ Pro Day showings.
- If this isn’t the most interesting answer to the most interesting question, I don’t know what is. I mean, Murray basically just confirmed it’s a done deal to Arizona, right? Okay, I’m kidding to an extent, but it does add fuel to the Kyler/Kingsbury fire. Thanks to the Tulsa World’s Guerin Emig for asking this and to the Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer for sharing it with the world.
.@GuerinEmig with the question of the freaking day to Kyler Murray: "When was the last time you talked to Kliff Kingsbury?"
— Tyler Palmateer (@Tpalmateer83) March 13, 2019
Murray, after some grinning and deliberation: "He texted me the other day." #Sooners #NFLDraft
- Bob Stoops was on the scene for OU’s Pro Day, and he spoke with ESPN’s Marty Smith about the moment he and Lincoln Riley knew bringing Kyler Murray in from Texas A&M was in the best interest for all involved.
Bob Stoops interview with Marty Smith on the decision to take Kyler Murray as a transfer.
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) March 13, 2019
"Lincoln made the distinction. He said, 'In my opinion, if Kyler Murray comes to Oklahoma he can win the Heisman Trophy.'"#OUDNA | #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/iI8HFhS58B
- Joel Klatt puts into perspective just how significant the success of Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma quarterbacks will be in the future with high-level signal callers.
Joel Klatt for President.
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) March 13, 2019
"If I was a high-level recruit, coming out of anywhere in the country, and I got a letter with OU at the top and it was signed by Lincoln Riley, it would go to the top of my drawer."#OUProDay | #OUDNA | #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/Gk1qirzcdc
- Speaking of Klatt, check him out with Colin Cowherd briefly discussing Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. teaming up. I imagine it would be a fine if they choreographed double-crotch grabs, but it needs to happen for GIF purposes.
Colin Cowherd is not thrilled with OBJ joining Baker Mayfield in Cleveland.
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) March 14, 2019
Joel Klatt, however, is excited about the possibilities.
"I hope that they have like double crotch grabs. Just for you, Colin."#Browns | #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/sLfSVevZjV
- Praise for OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh cannot be overstated. All he does is recruit good-to-great offensive linemen, develops them into even better players and sends them to the league year after year.
All eyes of the football world on #OU today. Best-kept secret there is the work OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh has done helping with that run game scheme and the Sooners offense.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) March 13, 2019
- Speaking of offensive linemen, apparently the starting five from last season will all end up getting matching tattoos. I can hardly wait to see what they come up with!
Cody Ford says this group of four offensive linemen (Powers, Samia, Evans, himself) are already planning vacations together and will all get the same tattoo along with Creed Humphrey. (Big 12 themed) pic.twitter.com/kuEMMBz2Nh
— SoonerScoop.com (@SoonerScoop) March 13, 2019
- The No. 2 Oklahoma softball team is in California for the LMU/CSUN Tournament, and things get started with a Thursday double-header. This first game is underway as we publish this, and you can follow the live stats here.
Rise and shine — it’s GAME DAY in Cali! ☀️
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) March 14, 2019
UCSB & Loyola Marymount
⏰ 11 a.m. & 4 p.m. CT
Smith Field
@OUontheAir #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/LXZ38LmKIL
- Trae Young made this 60-foot alley-oop play look so routine, but as anybody who has ever touched a basketball knows, it’s definitely not. What a feed.
Trae Young didn't even cross half court before throwing this alley-oop
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 14, 2019
( @StateFarm) pic.twitter.com/sMIYzRkTPi
- After a successful campaign in D.C. for the seasoned vet, the Redskins have agreed to re-signed Adrian Peterson to a two-year, $8 million deal. Prior to last season, most believed his career was over. However, doubting this man is never smart move. He’s just different.
Redskins re-signing RB Adrian Peterson to two-year, $8M deal. (via @RapSheet + @MikeGarafolo) pic.twitter.com/tKdJ20OXGM
— NFL (@NFL) March 13, 2019
Around the Sports World
- This is how you Pi Day. This is it right here. The Detroit Pistons moved up about 3.14 notches in my book.
Let's.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 14, 2019
Go.
πstons!#PiDay pic.twitter.com/0vUEBZe9gY
- Duke’s Zion Williamson is making a return against Syracuse, and this time he’ll be wearing shoes that won’t explode beneath his power. Okay, the first part of that is confirmed, but the second is TBD.
ZI N STATUS UPDATE:
— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 14, 2019
✈️ ‼️ ☀️
(He’s back) pic.twitter.com/VleciNZ6V6
- Klay Thompson has apologized to fans of the Golden State Warriors after he called them out for not being as loud and energetic in their last home game.
- Speaking of GSW, this blooper from Demarcus Cousins has to be on a Shaqtin’ a Fool reel sometime soon. Steph Curry also needs to sit down. That’s why it’s called a bench, my guy.
Cousins throws to a wide-open Steph Curry...who's on the bench pic.twitter.com/q5KXrVD6db
— The Render (@TheRenderNBA) March 14, 2019
- The NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones covered Odell Beckham Jr. for his entire career in New York, and now that he’s off to Cleveland, she wanted to share a personal story that shows a side many haven’t seen from OBJ. It’s very heartwarming, so I highly recommend giving this a watch.
A personal note on the Odell Beckham Jr I know. Wishing @obj much success with the #Browns. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/nmmh4elbGJ
— Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) March 13, 2019
- You want a little feel good? Well here’s a lot of feel-good. Check out the moment these Special Olympians found out they were invited to the Special Olympics 2019 Summer Games in Abu Dhabi. This is too awesome.
The moment these athletes found out they would be competing in the @SpecialOlympics World Games is priceless. pic.twitter.com/PKg5LNlzzG
— ESPN (@espn) March 14, 2019
Stick to Sports!
- Today is Pi Day, and for all you lame-o’s wondering why this random day has been declared notable in honor of a mathematical concept, it’s because today is March 14. Get it? 3.14? Oh yeah, it’s epic. What’s also amazing is how Emma Haruka Iwao, a Google employee, broke the world record for digits calculated in the infinite number. It took four months to compute over 31 trillion digits, which is simply too astounding for my brain to fully comprehend. That’s okay though, I’m much more of a pecan guy, myself.
Google employee calculates pi to record 31 trillion digits https://t.co/hyMxPx6Zxc pic.twitter.com/8uNXzGozJv
— The Verge (@verge) March 14, 2019
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