KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 40-minute clock had already started ticking down by the time Oklahoma arrived for its pre-Big 12 tournament shootaround at the Sprint Center Tuesday.
It was nothing more than a chance to get a look at the arena. The Sooners had already gone through a full practice prior to leaving for the tournament site.
But the bus driver got lost, and the Sooners made their way to the court five minutes late.
“It’s just the kind of year we’ve had,” OU coach Jeff Capel grinned.
That season will either end or extend depending on what happens at 6 p.m. tonight when the 10th-seeded Sooners (13-17, 4-12 Big 12) face seventh-seeded Oklahoma State (21-9, 9-7).
Any close look at what’s gone wrong for the Sooners over the last three months points toward the postseason Bedlam game being the swan song. The Sooners lugged an eight-game losing streak up from Norman. One of those losses — the second in the streak — was a 97-76 pummeling by the Cowboys in Stillwater Feb. 13.
Good vibes aren’t exactly flowing.
But OU seems to have found one thing it can rally around.
“We’ve put everything behind us. Conference play, non-conference play, they don’t matter anymore. This is new life,” OU freshman point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin said Tuesday. “The records don’t matter and this is our last chance. We just want to take advantage of the opportunity.”
It is an opportunity because OU has a chance to end the year on a positive note.
It won’t advance to the NCAA Tournament unless it somehow catches lightning in a bottle, wins four games in four days and the Big 12 tournament title. The NIT is out of the question because OU can’t obtain a winning record without winning the conference tournament.
But the Sooners can remove some of the bitter taste that’s built in their mouths over the last five weeks.
“This is another season for us. It’s an opportunity to get better. That’s our whole focus right now,” Capel said. “We can’t do anything about the past. We can’t think about last week or two months ago.”
It’s better they don’t. What’s most important is they don’t just go through the motions tonight.
This is a chance to at least head into next season with a positive feeling. A good run in the conference tournament can be an incredible building block. What happened at Baylor this season is a perfect example. The Bears entered last season’s Big 12 tournament as a No. 9 seed after going 5-11 in the conference. It made its way to the championship game before bowing out to Missouri.
Twelve months later, the Bears are experiencing a breakout season.
Can the same happen for the Sooners?
“To me it can be done. We don’t fear anyone in our league. We know we can hang with anybody,” OU guard Cade Davis said. “We’ve shown it at times throughout the Big 12. It’s just a matter of whether that team shows up or not. Hopefully, it does and we can make that run.”
The Sooners have had the potential to make that run all season. It just never happened. Their last chance comes tonight.
This season will always be characterized by OU’s inability to meet the lofty preseason expectations. Tonight, they’re looking to do simpler things.
“I expect them to fight and compete and I expect us to play well,” Capel said.
That’s where the building starts.
