No. 2 Oklahoma (7-1) will look to secure a victory at McCasland Fieldhouse for the 78th consecutive time on Saturday.
OU’s extensive home winning streak faces a substantial threat, as No. 3 Nebraska (4-3) comes into town eager to finally conquer the Sooners after a 20-year-long drought.
“The last two or three years they’ve gotten back up to where they’re pushing the top teams,” OU coach Mark Williams said of the Cornhuskers, “I know they’re going to be fired up.”
Aside from their victory over the Sooners in last season’s NCAA qualifiers, Nebraska hasn’t topped OU since 1999, one year before Williams took over as head coach. That includes a total of 22 losses, eight of which were in Norman.
The head-to-head matchups between the two squads have become very competitive in recent years, however, with the past three meets being decided by less than eight points.
The Sooners and Huskers last faced each other in the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 15. Although the meet was headlined by Oklahoma’s slim 407.700-407.500 victory over reigning national champion No. 1 Stanford, Nebraska held its own with the top dogs by posting a 404.350.
Since then, Nebraska has averaged a 404.500 in two meets to Oklahoma’s 403.600 in three meets. Along with Stanford, the Sooners and Cornhuskers are just two of three teams to average a 400.000-plus score on the season.
The Sooners come into the meet fresh off a nail-biting 403.850-398.650 victory over No. 6 Illinois on Feb. 12. The meet marked the first appearance from senior captain Vitaliy Guimaraes since the home opener. It also showcased an all around score of 82.000 by freshman Raydel Gamboa.
“I kinda felt like we were just ok,” Williams said of the somewhat unsatisfying performance. “It took a little bit of a scare where they were getting awfully close to finally get (our team) more excited.”
Oklahoma found itself with a slight 269.900-269.750 lead following a stagnant start in the first four rotations. A strong finish on parallel bars and high bar put the squad in control as they escaped an upset in Champaign.
The Sooners now come back to Norman, where the standard has been set remarkably high throughout Williams’ tenure.
“Anytime anybody comes to our facility we should have the advantage,” Williams said. “It’s our gym, our equipment, our fans, we get to sleep at home and we should win.”
The Sooners' multitude of streaks will be on the line when they take on the Cornhuskers at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19.
“It’s going to be probably one of the most exciting meets we’ve had in a long time,” Williams said. “I expect it to be close and I expect we’re going to have a decent crowd.”
