Raegan Beers and Aaliyah Chavez lead the Oklahoma Sooners into the NCAA Tournament, where they face the Idaho Vandals in the first round from Lloyd Noble Center
NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma Sooners women's basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year, and this time they're tipping things off in-front of a home crowd at Lloyd Noble Center.
As the No. 4 seed with a solid 24-7 record, they're hosting the No. 13 seed Idaho Vandals, who come in hot at 29-5.
Broadcast Details
Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. CT, and it'll be broadcast on ESPN with Sam Gore handling play-by-play and Tamika Catchings breaking it down as analyst. You can also hear the game on the Sooner Sports Radio Network with Brian Brinkley and Carolyn Baker calling the action. The Spanish broadcast will also air on Los Sooners Radio with Danny Gonzales and Eduardo Olivas.
Tournament History
This marks the Sooners' 26th overall appearance in the Big Dance and their 24th since the turn of the century. Under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, who's in her fifth season, they've made the tournament every single year and snagged a top-five seed each time. That's tying the program's best stretch from back in 2006-2010.
Road to the Final Four
They're in the Sacramento 4 Region this year and, for the second straight season, get to host the first two rounds in Norman. It's only the eighth time in school history they've hosted early rounds, a big deal for the home crowd.
Lloyd Noble is doubling up with games. Colorado State and Michigan State get things started at 6:30 p.m. CT. Fans can roll in early for the official pregame block party outside the east entrance around that same time. The Sooners are set to take the floor around 9pm CT.
Get to know the Idaho Vandals
These two teams have never faced each other before, but Oklahoma holds a 7-3 edge historically against Big Sky Conference squads. Idaho's no pushover, they dominated their league, claiming both the regular-season title and the conference tournament crown. They've rattled off 18 wins in a row heading into this matchup, so they're carrying some serious momentum from Moscow.
What to watch for from the Oklahoma Sooners
On the Sooners' side, this group has been lighting it up offensively. They're averaging a program-best 86.7 points per game, which ranks third in the entire country and tops last year's school record of 84.7.
Their starting lineup alone puts up 69 points a night, second only to South Carolina nationally. They've dropped seven 100-point games this season (another program record) and hit 90 or more in 12 contests.
They play at a blistering pace (79.4 possessions per game, fastest in the nation), rank second in second-chance points (17.3), fifth in fast-break buckets (16.2) and assists (20.0), and sixth in points in the paint (43.2).
It's an absolute machine when they're rolling.
Defensively, they hold their own too, especially when you factor in how fast they play. Their adjusted defensive rating sits at 85.2 (26th nationally), opponents shoot just 35.9% against them (15th-lowest mark), they block five shots a game (18th), and force 18 turnovers.
Coach Baranczyk's crew has kept all but seven opponents under their season scoring average and set a record by holding nine teams below 30% shooting.
The Sooners' dynamic duo
The leadership comes from standouts like All-American center Raegan Beers, who's earned First-Team All-SEC honors for the second year in a row, plus third-team USBWA All-America and honorable mention AP.
Then there's freshman sensation Aaliyah Chavez, named ESPN's national freshman of the year and Second-Team All-SEC. Both made the WBCA All-America Regional list too. They're the heart of this squad.
Oklahoma's strong resume
Oklahoma's schedule has prepped them well. They've played 13 games against 12 NCAA Tournament teams, winning six, including a big one over the No. 1 overall seed South Carolina.
The Sooners have six Quad 1 victories, stand 14-7 against top-100 NET teams (Idaho checks in at No. 99), and have won 30 straight against unranked foes dating back to last year.
They're also 39-0 lifetime against Quadrants 2-4 opponents in recent stretches.
If the Sooners get past Idaho, they'll move on to the second round on Sunday, they'll face the winner of the earlier Michigan State-Colorado State game. Bracket updates and TV info will drop late Friday or Saturday.
All in all, this is a team that's battle-tested, explosive on offense, tough on defense, and playing with home-court advantage. March is here, and the Sooners look ready to make another deep run.