OKLAHOMA CITY — The waiting is the hardest part for Oklahoma. That’s all it can do after its run through the Big 12 tournament ended late Saturday night with 7-6 loss to Baylor.
The bid for a second straight come-from-behind victory fell one-run short against the Bears, bringing a welcome day off Sunday. The question is whether it was the first of the summer or the last before preparations begin for the NCAA Tournament.
Only the NCAA Tournament selection committee knows for sure and it won’t let the secret out until 11:30 a.m.
The Sooners believe they’ve made their case for making the field of 64. They’re 34-24 and finished the Big 12 tournament ranked No. 27 by the Ratings Percentage Index.
Baylor coach Steve Smith said it should be enough.
“I’ll be very shocked if they’re not in,” he said. “I don’t see how you can make the argument against them.”
OU has gone 14-11 against teams ranked in Baseball America’s current Top 25, including a 7-6 mark against teams that were named NCAA regional hosts Sunday.
Beating good teams has kept the Sooners’ RPI respectable all season. But a lot of those good wins came in March. OU struggled in conference play, finishing in seventh place in the 10-team league. The 11-16 conference mark sticks out like a pimple in a wedding photo.
The fact his team didn’t finish above .500 in the conference has kept OU coach Sunny Golloway from becoming a lobbyist.
“We have left it in someone else’s hands and those guys are intelligent and know what they are doing,” he said after Saturday night’s game. “If we get another opportunity to continue to play, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Luckily for Golloway, he has the rest of the league to do it for him. Besides Smith, Missouri coach Tim Jamieson trumpeted the Big 12 battle cry after OU’s 7-2 victory over the Tigers Wednesday night.
“I’m pulling for the league to get seven or eight teams in,” he said. “I think we’re a good enough league that we’ve earned that.”
Finding a spot for the Sooners will be a referendum on the Big 12. Seven is the most bids the conference has ever received to the NCAA tournament. If the Sooners get in, it will likely be another year with seven bids.
But that is all banter. OU played like a team that wanted to extend its season in Oklahoma City. Beating Missouri, Oklahoma State and rallying to nearly beat Baylor was evidence the Sooners played with a purpose.
“I think a lot of us had the feeling that people had already counted us out and weren’t giving us a chance to go any further than this tournament,” OU catcher Jackson Williams said. “We definitely wanted to come in here and make a statement that we have the kind of team and the kind of fight to get through this tournament.”
Was it enough to impress the NCAA selection committee?
The wait will be over today.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
Local Sports
May 28, 2007
Sooners find out today
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