Busting Brackets
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Oklahoma Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Sooners

By Jacob Shames

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: The Oklahoma Sooners bench reacts in the second half against the Mississippi Rebels during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: The Oklahoma Sooners bench reacts in the second half against the Mississippi Rebels during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Christian James #0 of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts after making a three point basket in the first half against the Mississippi Rebels during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: Christian James #0 of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts after making a three point basket in the first half against the Mississippi Rebels during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Quick Hits

2018-19 Record: 20-14 (7-11, 7th in Big 12)

Final KenPom ranking: 32

Offensive efficiency: 111.1 (57nd)

Defensive efficiency: 94.1 (23rd)

Adjusted tempo: 68.6 (123rd)

NCAA Tournament: 9th in South Regional, lost in second round to Virginia (63-51)

Departees: G Christian James (14.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 34.7 3pt%), G Rashard Odomes (6.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 52.7 fg%), G Miles Reynolds (6.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg), G Aaron Calixte (6.6 ppg, 2.1 apg, 33.7 3pt%), C Jamuni McNeace (4.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.8 bpg), F Matt Freeman (3.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 36.2 3pt%), C Hannes Polla (1.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 60.0 fg%), F Patrick Geha (1.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.0 apg), G Ty Lazenby, G Luke Stephenson

New additions for 2019-20: G Keller Casey (Fr.), F Anyang Garang (Fr.), G De’Vion Harmon (Fr.), F Jalen Hill (Fr.), C Rick Issanza (Fr.), F Victor Iwuakor (Fr.), C Corbin Merritt (Rs. So.), G Blake Seacat (Fr.), G Alondes Williams (Jr.)

2018-19 Summary

The Sooners scored their first big win early on, defeating tournament-bound Wofford at home by double digits. They finished third in the Battle 4 Atlantis after beating Florida and Dayton but losing to Wisconsin. Oklahoma rolled off seven wins in a row to close out non-conference play, including wins over Creighton and at Northwestern and began 2019 ranked No. 23 in the nation.

Oklahoma stayed in the polls for three weeks, dropping out after a road loss to Texas — its fourth in six games — on Jan. 19. It rebounded to win their next two, but then fell into a five-game tailspin, sandwiched by two losses to Baylor, to put its NCAA Tournament hopes in serious jeopardy.

The Sooners pulled themselves together to win four of their next five, capped off by an emphatic, 81-68 win over Kansas on Senior Night that officially ended the Jayhawks’ streak of 13 straight Big 12 championships. But that momentum didn’t carry over into the conference tournament, where they made a first-round exit at the hands of West Virginia.

Oklahoma traveled to Columbia, S.C. to begin NCAA Tournament play, where it throttled Ole Miss, 95-72, in its best performance of the season. The Sooners then suffered the expected fate against Virginia — which is to say, they scored just 20 points in the first half and couldn’t come back.

A 7-11 conference record doesn’t normally portend a team going dancing, but of Oklahoma’s 14 losses on the season, all but two came to teams inside KenPom’s top 35. In the Big 12, the best a team like the Sooners could do was survive, which they did.

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