Oklahoma Basketball: 8-seeded Sooners to play Missouri in first round of 2021 NCAA Tournament

On Selection Sunday, the Oklahoma Sooners (15-10) learned that they will enter this year’s NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed and will open March Madness against 9-seeded Missouri Tigers (16-9) in the West Region. The fun begins for OU and its former Big 12 foe on Saturday, Mar. 20. Tip-off time and TV info is TBD.

Below is a look at the entire West Region of the bracket, including the No. 1 overall seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and 3-seeded Kansas Jayhawks.

After building a 14-5 record through the third week of February, OU fell into a late season slump, losing five of its last six games. As for Mizzou, head coach Cuonzo Martin’s squad held a 13-3 record at one point, but experienced a similar end-of-season decline to Lon Kruger’s club, dropping six of its final nine contests. This weekend will be MU’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last eight years.

This time a year ago, Oklahoma was in play for a Big Dance berth, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dashed those hopes before the start of the Big 12 Tournament. Not counting the cancellation during the 2019-20 season, the Sooners have now qualified for the last three NCAA tourneys and seven of the last eight.

From the round of 64 to the Final Four, all games in this year’s NCAA Tournament will be played in Indianapolis as an adjustment that was made due to the ongoing pandemic. The road to the top starts and stops in Indy, and for Oklahoma, that quest begins this Saturday.

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