Baylor basketball

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The old Umoja Gibson would've heaved a 3-point shot. Gibson entered his senior campaign as a sharpshooter for Oklahoma.

We had the hardest schedule in the country... They only committed five turnovers in the second half as they ran away with the game. Most projections didn't have the Sooners as one of the first four out or the next four out entering postseason play, meaning they likely need two wins in Kansas City to be a lock. I feel like we did that a lot better in the second half." Without any hesitation, the junior forward netted a 3-pointer that brought OU's bench to its feet. OU's Marvin Johnson did his best to prevent the bucket, but Flagler euro-stepped his way around him before finishing with a layup. "When a guy like (Harkless) goes out, someone has got to step up," Jacob said. "We knew that was probably our biggest downfall in the first half," redshirt senior Ethan Chargois said of the turnovers. Instead, it fell into the hands of Bonner. "We've had some close games where he settled for that three instead of going downhill," Moser said. Gibson sank the ensuing free throw, further securing his team's upset victory. "I knew he wanted it," Moser said.

Oklahoma upset No. 3 Baylor 72-67 in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.

But the Sooners have gotten some life since, closing the regular season with three straight victories and adding a fourth by toppling Baylor. The case remains grim, according to Palm; the Sooners may need to win the Big 12 Tournament outright to get in. Gonzaga appears likely to land the No. 1 overall seed, and the Bulldogs are tied with Baylor with 10 Quad I victories. The Bears led college basketball with 10 Quadrant I victories according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). But Baylor's early loss in the Big 12 Tournament, and the continuation of the Bears' primary competition for a No. 1 seed means Baylor could slide down a seed line by Selection Sunday, depending on what happens to those other teams. Auburn and Arizona also have strong cases to wind up with a No. 1 in a few days. There's at least a chance he returns once the NCAA Tournament starts. Baylor (26-6) entered the game as a projected No. 1 seed according to CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm, and will stay there for now. But a Big 12 Tournament title would mean that Kansas would likely pass Baylor in Quad I wins and would have both the a share of the Big 12 regular season title with the Bears and the conference tournament championship. "Baylor remains a No. 1 seed for now," Palm said. The Sooners then finished off the game at the free-throw line. And a 3-pointer from Marvin Johnson put the Sooners up nine points with 9:52 remaining. Twice, the Bears pulled to within one point in the final four minutes. The Sooners' win marked Oklahoma's fourth straight as they try to scrape their way into the NCAA Tournament field.

The No. 6-seeded men's Oklahoma basketball team plays No. 2 Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

- The last time Oklahoma and Baylor played (Jan. 25 in Norman), the Sooners committed a season-high 25 turnovers. - Adam Flagler and James Akinjo lead Baylor in scoring, averaging 13.8 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. Baylor wins by 10+, and OU can look forward to an NIT invite. And although this team has been challenged by some significant injuries and isn’t quite as good as last year’s champions, it is still highly capable of winning it all again this season. On Jan. 8, Oklahoma was 12-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play. Currently, Baylor is projected as a No. 1 seed in this season’s NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma played itself out of NCAA Tournament consideration with a late season collapse (losing seven out of eight games at one stretch) before closing the regular season with three consecutive wins to avoid a play-in game in the Big 12 Tournament. - Baylor is the Big 12 regular-season co-champion with Kansas. This is the third straight season the Bears have been the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. - Baylor is second in the Big 12 in scoring this season (76.8 points per game) and in three-point field-goal percentage (35.2) and leads the conference in average margin of victory (13.5). OU and Baylor will tip off at 6 p.m. on Thursday. One of the immutable axioms in sports is that it is very difficult to beat a team three times in the same season. But this Baylor team isn’t just any other team. The last time OU and Baylor met in the Big 12 Tournament was 2014 in Buddy Hield’s sophomore season with the No. 7 Bears prevailing 78-73 over No. 2-seeded Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round.

Best social media reactions from the Oklahoma Sooners 72-67 win over the Baylor Bears in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

Winners of four straight, including Thursday night’s 72-67 win over No. 3 Baylor, the Sooners have gotten hot at the right time and are making some noise in March. After an up and down, turnover-filled first half, the Oklahoma Sooners settled in and outscored the Bears by 11 in the second half to pull away at the end. With another huge game coming on Friday night, let’s enjoy some of the best social media reactions from the Sooners big win over defending national champions.

The Baylor men's basketball team began Big 12 tournament play against Oklahoma. They were upset, 72-67.

OU will look to avoid a third loss to the Bears this season.

If the Sooners can cut down on completely wasted offensive trips and keep the Bears out of transition, a win here isn’t out of the question. Fundamentally, the Bears pose a terrible matchup for OU because they are among the best teams in the country at forcing turnovers. The pressure will be on OU guard Jordan Goldwire Thursday to manage the flow of the offense and avoid giving the ball away to Baylor’s pesky defenders. Baylor ranks fourth overall in the kenpom.com’s adjusted efficiency metric and likely has an inside track for a No. 1 seed when the brackets for the big dance are revealed on Sunday. To be fair, Baylor isn’t the same team the Sooners faced in January. The Bears subsequently lost forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and guard LJ Cryer to injury. The Oklahoma Sooners’ flickering hopes for an NCAA tournament bid in Porter Moser’s first season as head coach have received a bump from conference tournament results this week.

The Sooners won a must-win game in Kansas City to thrust themselves straight back into the NCAA Tournament picture on Thursday.

"I think it's kind of an accumulation of a lot of things building up to the end of season," Groves said. With OU up three with 48 seconds left, sharpshooter Umoja Gibson opted to attack the rim instead of stepping back for a triple. "We're playing great basketball at the right time of the year," Groves said. Got two more to win." "We knew that was probably our biggest downfall in the first half, was the turnovers," Oklahoma's Ethan Chargois said. OU led for a majority of the first half. "We've had some close games where we settled for that 3 instead of going downhill, and I know (Gibson) wanted it," Moser said. "When we lost Elijah Harkless we found out the day before and it took us by surprise. "... It's really helped us. We have won four in a row. "Now we have regrouped. The Sooners turned the ball over 11 times in the first half compared to Baylor’s lone turnover, allowing the Bears to close the first half on a 13-2 run and take a six-point lead into halftime.

The No. 3 Baylor men's basketball team suffered a 72-67 upset loss to Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday night.

The Bears will be looking to defend their 2021 national championship. The Bears (26-6) had a six-point lead at halftime, but their defense fell apart in the final 20 minutes. Baylor fell in the semifinals last year to Oklahoma State.