2015 NCAA Tournament East Region: Who WIll Make Final 4?

Mar 22, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard

(24) drives against Dayton Flyers guard

(3) during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

3. Oklahoma

Controversy! The highest remaining seed coming in at third!?! Hear me out. Twice this tournament, Oklahoma has narrowly escaped embarrassment, beating Albany in the first round by nine points and Dayton in the second round by just six. In that second game, the Sooners trailed for much of the second-half before the Flyers ran out of gas, and even then, it took this incredible block by Buddy Hield to save the game.

I’m going to keep sharing that block all tournament long because it’s an amazing play. Seriously, that’s superb athleticism.

Nonetheless, the Sooners’ gift after two straight close battles is the Michigan State Spartans, who are undoubtedly playing their best basketball. If they beat Tom Izzo’s crew, they’ll then be tasked with facing either a big and tall NC State team or a defensively overwhelming Louisville crew. The cards are stacked for the Sooners.

They also lack something that the other top two teams do not: experience. If not just on the roster with players, both Louisville and Michigan State have coaches who have been to multiple Final Fours and are among the best. Oklahoma does not have that.

Next: Louisville