The No.2-seeded Oklahoma Sooners play the No.15-seeded Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The game gets underway at 4:00 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 18 and can be seen on TNT.
The Sooners are expecting a better outcome after their 69-67 loss to West Virginia in the 3 of the Big 12 tournament. Ryan Spangler had the best performance for the Sooners, recording 12 points, four rebounds, and two blocks. The Roadrunners, meanwhile, are coming off a 57-54 win over New Mexico State in the 3 of the Western Athletic tournament. Dedrick Basile shot 8-for-16 and led in scoring with 18 points.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Oklahoma ranks 27th in the nation, allowing just 98.4 points per 100 possessions, while Cal State Bakersfield is fourth (92.9).
Despite being 25-7 Straight Up (SU), the Sooners have struggled to cover the spread in most of their matchups, only managing a record of 12-18 Against The Spread (ATS). They have outperformed expectations over their last 10 games, going undefeated ATS (3-0) and 9-1 SU. Opposing offenses have been stifled by the Sooners, allowing a field goal percentage of only .405. Oklahoma will look to take advantage of the Roadrunners and their propensity to foul. Cal State Bakersfield ranks 317th in the nation in fouls, averaging 21.7 per game.
As for their opponent, Cal State Bakersfield has a SU record of 24-8 and an ATS record of 11-3. Cal State Bakersfield has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 2-8.
Oklahoma and Cal State Bakersfield will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – CS-Bk, ATS Winner – CS-Bk
Notes
“Oklahoma is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma’s last 5 games “.
The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners have the best defense in the country, giving up just 92.9 points per 100 possessions. The Oklahoma Sooners rank 45th in offense, scoring 112.6 points in the same number of possessions.
On average, Oklahoma has 71.4 possessions per game and scores 1.126 points on each possession. Cal State Bakersfield has both fewer possessions (68.3) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.070).
The Oklahoma Sooners have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 25th in the country with an eFG% of 54.5%. When their opponents record a similar or higher eFG%, the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners have a losing 1-3 record.
This season, Oklahoma attempts 24.0 three pointers per game and Cal State Bakersfield attempts 15.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Oklahoma Sooners are 21-7 while the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners are undefeated at 3-0.
Cal State Bakersfield ranks 55th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.28. Oklahoma is ranked lower at 131st with an A/TO of 1.12.
Oklahoma ranks 58th in rebounds per game with 38.8 and Cal State Bakersfield ranks 72nd with 38.3 rebounds per game.
The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners rank 20th in steals this season, with an average of 8.0 per game. When the Oklahoma Sooners give up at least 8 steals, they have a superb 10-2 record.
