Oklahoma Sooners Men's Basketball projected to be in 2027 March Madness

Joe Lunardi's way-too-early bracketology projects the Oklahoma Sooners to the Opening Round in the NCAA tournament's newest play-in format. The play-in will feature 24 teams instead of the 8 team format we have seen from 2011 to 2026. The 12 lowest-seeded conference champions will face each other, while the other 12 teams will feature the 12 lowest-seeded at-large qualifiers.

While this would mean the Sooners would be battling in a play-in game, they are not listed as one of the Last Four In. Lunardi doesn't rank the remainder of the play-in field, Instead, he lists the Last Four Byes (Last teams to skip the play-in round), Last Four In (Last teams to make the play-in round), First Four Out (The first four teams to miss the cut) and the Next Four Out (The teams just below the First Four Out). This most likely means that the Sooners are either one of the top four play-in squads or they are just above the Last Four In. 

Lunardi currently has Oklahoma facing former conference foe Baylor in an 11-seed play-in matchup. The winner would face No. 6-seeded USC in the first round. Lunardi is also high on Arkansas again as the winner of USC-Oklahoma/Baylor would face off against the winner of No. 14 seeded UC Santa Barbara and No. 3 seeded Arkansas. 

I think this is a fair projection by Lunardi. Most of Sooner Nation would agree that it's crunch time for Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser. It's been frustrating for Sooner fans as Oklahoma has only made the NCAA tournament once out of Moser's five seasons as head coach. The only tournament wins for Moser have been during his tenure at Loyola Chicago where he helped the Ramblers make the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 in 2021. While both years were unbelievable runs, the competition has been much tougher in the SEC (and the Big 12). So far, Moser hasn't had much success. 

It will be another gauntlet of a schedule in year three of the SEC. In my three toughest games for Oklahoma, I truly think that the Texas series will be the biggest one. Purdue and the Bedlam game will most likely be the biggest non-conference matchups. Beating Oklahoma State and the Boilermakers would be a solid start for the Sooners before they head into SEC play. 

If the Sooners can go undefeated in non-conference and maybe go 8-10 in the SEC, I think that would be enough for Oklahoma to make The Big Dance.