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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: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners handles the ball against Devontae Shuler #2 of the Mississippi Rebels in the second half 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: Kristian Doolittle #21 of the Oklahoma Sooners handles the ball against Devontae Shuler #2 of the Mississippi Rebels in the second half 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) /

Schedule Breakdown

Oklahoma’s schedule, thanks to playing in the Big 12, should once again be one of the toughest in the nation. You can’t say the same for the non-conference portion, though. It’s not that it’s weak, per se, but that it’s just kinda…there. The Sooners won’t play any big-name teams or even any locks for the NCAA Tournament, but they’re not going into January unbeaten.

Oklahoma’s second game is a neutral-site affair against Minnesota, but the Gophers will have the geographic advantage in Sioux Falls. Their third is another “neutral” contest: Oregon State in Portland. The sixth is in Kansas City against Stanford. The Sooners are better than every one of those teams, but their chances of winning all three games aren’t much higher than their chances of winning none of them.

It gets harder when the Sooners make another swing up Midwest, playing Wichita State and Creighton on the road in December. KenPom gives them just a 51 percent chance of winning the first and 41 percent of beating the Jays.

Oklahoma shouldn’t have any problem with any other non-conference opponents. After that, it’s a doozy, as it always is in conference play. No Big 12 team ranks below 59th in KenPom, and the true round-robin nature ensures that every team will be ready for every other team if they aren’t the first time around.

KenPom predicts a 9-9 conference finish for the Sooners, and their toughest stretch looks to be the week of Feb. 15-Feb. 22, when they’ll take on Kansas in Lawrence, welcome Baylor to the Lloyd Noble Center three days later, and go on the road to resume Bedlam against Oklahoma State the following Saturday. Other than that, Oklahoma’s schedule is balanced, as it won’t play any of the conference’s best teams consecutively except for that stretch.

Breaking up the conference grind is the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge, which falls on Jan. 25. Oklahoma drew Mississippi State at home, a game that the Sooners probably should win but can’t take lightly.

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