OU men’s basketball (19-15, 7-11 SEC) exited the Southeastern Conference Tournament, following a 82-79 loss to No. 17 Arkansas (24-8, 13-5 SEC) in the quarterfinals on Friday in Nashville.
Two of the hottest players in the SEC, OU senior guard Nijel Pack and SEC player of the year Arkansas freshman guard Darrius Acuff Jr., clashed in a must-win game that carried major NCAA Tournament implications.
Acuff finished with 37 points against the OU defense, while Pack contributed a team-high 19, but Acuff’s near-40-point performance was the tipping point in a game that featured 16 lead changes and 11 ties.
With OU never reaching full “in” status in ESPN’s Bracketology, its fate hangs in the balance until Selection Sunday on March 15. OU has lived on the bubble over the last three days, climbing the ranks of the first eight teams out to finish as the first team out ahead of its matchup with the Razorbacks.
While the Sooners may be out of chances to improve their resume, they certainly made their case for a last-minute at-large bid by going 7-3 in their last 10 games, with a six-game winning streak to close out the regular season and open SEC Tournament play.
Makes from deep were hard to come by against Arkansas, as the Sooners went 4-for-16 from beyond the arc and were forced to generate offense in the paint. OU battled down low and amassed 46 points from inside. However, with the Razorbacks doubling OU’s 3-point total, they were able to go toe-to-toe and eventually outpace the Sooners down the stretch.
OU’s starting five looked to be on track to have another dominant performance, but one player couldn't match the production of the rest of the group. Junior guard Xzayvier Brown had an uncharacteristically low-scoring night, finishing with four points before fouling out late in the game. Brown wasn't able to contribute much in the way of scoring, but was still able to facilitate the floor by picking up eight assists and seven rebounds. Brown entered Friday’s contest averaging 15.6 points per game, but failed to find his rhythm, finishing just 2 of 10 from the field.
Another shortcoming for the Sooners was their bench production. While senior guard Jadon Jones continued to make an impact defensively, picking up another steal to increase his steal-per-game streak to eight, the offensive play was lacking. Jones contributed zero points to an OU bench that only managed nine points.
Throughout the SEC Tournament, OU has relied primarily on its starters to carry the scoring load. However, against Arkansas, the Sooners needed a spark beyond the starters and never received the impactful performance it needed in the wake of Brown’s off night.
Despite their flaws against the Razorbacks, OU still played a highly competitive game. The two teams had near-identical numbers in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds, turnovers and second chance points, leaving the outcome to be decided by which team could convert late.
As OU packs its bags and heads back to Norman, it will have one question on its mind: Was the late-season push enough to reach March Madness?
This story was edited by Laurie Jones.
