4 Oklahoma
5 Notre Dame
Monday, March 21, 2022 / 5 p.m. CT / Norman / Lloyd Noble Center
NORMAN – After winning its first NCAA Tournament game since 2017, the Oklahoma women's basketball team is back for more and can punch its ticket to the Sweet 16 Monday night at home when it takes on Notre Dame at Lloyd Noble Center. The No. 4-seeded Sooners (25-8, 12-5) will host the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish (23-8, 12-5) at 5 p.m.
The game will air on ESPN2 with Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod on the call. The winner will take on the victor of the (1) NC State vs. (9) Kansas State matchup taking place in Raleigh, N.C. If the Sooners win, they'd earn their first spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 since 2013 and 11th time in program history.
Doors to the arena open one hour before tip and the Lloyd Noble Center's clear-bag policy is in effect. Current Oklahoma students have free admission for the game.
THE STARTING FIVE
- One of the most dominant women's basketball programs since 2000, Oklahoma is appearing in its 22nd all-time NCAA Tournament and 20th since the turn of the century. The Sooners are 34-21 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and have won at least one game in 18 of those previous appearances. Oklahoma has been to 10 Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights and three Final Fours, finishing as the national runner-up in 2002. It's Oklahoma's first appearance in the tournament since 2018, and this weekend's games mark the first time OU has received hosting privileges since 2012. The Sooners are 9-2 when hosting NCAA Tournament games in Norman.
- Oklahoma's high-powered offensive attack is one of the best in the country and fighting to be the best in program history. OU's 83.2 points per game rank fourth nationally as 19.0 assists (4th in NCAA) per game power the attack. Madi Williams (18.3 PPG) and Taylor Robertson (17.1 PPG) were unanimous selections to the All-Big 12 First Team. In addition, head coach Jennie Baranczyk was named a semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award earlier in March.
- Under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, OU has notched four top-25 wins this season, the most ever for a first-year Sooner head coach. Two of those wins have come vs. the No. 9-ranked team in the country as OU upset then-No. 9 Texas 65-63 on Jan. 29 and then-No. 9 Baylor 78-77 a few days later on Feb. 2. The Sooners also notched wins over then-No. 16 BYU and then-No. 14 Baylor. A win vs. the No. 21 Fighting Irish would secure her fifth top-25 win of the season.
- A pair of Sooners in Madi Williams and Taylor Robertson were unanimous selections to the All-Big 12 First Team as voted on by the league's coaches. Oklahoma was the only team in the league to land two unanimous selections on the league's first team as the two became the first Sooner pair to both land on the first team since Aaryn Ellenberg and Whitney Hand in 2012. Skylar Vann was named the Big 12's 6th Player of the Year after averaging double-digit points and over five rebounds per game off the bench. Freshman point guard Kelbie Washington earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. Robertson was named an honorable mention AP All-America selection in addition to conference awards.
- The improvement for Oklahoma women's basketball from 12-12 last season to 24-8 in Baranczyk's first year marks the first time in program history for a first-year coach to improve by 10 wins in their first season. The 13-win jump is the second-largest overall in program history, trailing only Cathie Schweitzer, who increased the team's win total by 16 between the 1977 and 1978 seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
Powered by Madi Williams and Taylor Robertson, who both scored 20-plus points, No. 4-seed Oklahoma advanced into the second round of the NCAA Tournament by holding off 13th-seeded IUPUI, 78-72 in Norman on Saturday night. The win marked Oklahoma's first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2017. In front of a raucous crowd, the Sooners (25-8, 12-6) battled with the Horizon League champions all night, even opening a 14-point lead in the third quarter. But IUPUI (24-7, 18-4) nearly fought all the way back, cutting the OU lead to four before the Sooners iced it at the free throw line to win and hold off the late comeback attempt.KNOW YOUR FOE
The No. 5 seed in the Bridgeport Region is Notre Dame, who makes its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance after having its 24-year appearance streak snapped last season. The Fighting Irish boast two national championships (2001, 2018) and earned an at-large bid this year. Oklahoma is 2-3 when facing Notre Dame and 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament, meeting in the Sweet 16 twice and in the Second Round once. The Irish have appeared in six of the last 10 national championship games.Notre Dame enters the NCAA Tournament with a NET ranking of No. 20 (an improvement of 36 spots from last year). The Irish are 3-3 against the NET top-25 and 7-6 against the NET Top-50. They have zero losses outside the top-100.
UP NEXT
A win on Monday would send OU into the Sweet 16 vs. the winner of the (1) NC State and (9) Kansas State. A date and time for the Sweet 16 contest will be determined following Monday's second round."spot" - Google News
March 21, 2022 at 06:54AM
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Sooners Look to Earn Sweet 16 Spot vs. Notre Dame - University of Oklahoma - Soonersports.com
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