Sooners a No. 6 Seed, Face Michigan

By Andrew Gilman | SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Sooners were plenty excited Monday night when they gathered at coach Sherri Coale's house to see the unveiling of the NCAA tournament field.

They cheered as their name came up during the ESPN selection show. Smiles all around.

Next up: Making sure that excitement lasts until Sunday.

OU was slotted as No. 6 seed and the Sooners will take on 11th-seeded Michigan inside the Lloyd Noble Center at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. No. 3-seed St. John's and No. 14-seed Creighton will also be in Norman. They will play at 4 p.m. Sunday.

(6) Oklahoma vs. (11) Michigan | NCAA Championship First Round | Sunday, March 18
Tickets | Photos | NCAA Championship Central

“We're really excited,” guard Whitney Hand said. “Six (seed) is great for us. It's a great draw, we didn't have the best record.”

OU is 20-12 overall and went 11-7 in conference play, getting eliminated in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. Because of their strong schedule, OU was rewarded with a higher seed than many projected.

“That pre-conference schedule played a huge role,” Coale said. “They (the NCAA selection committee) look beyond win-loss record. Our league got a great deal of respect and that was part of the reason we got the seed we did.”

The Sooners are in the Fresno (Calif.) Regional. Stanford is the top seed in the region and Duke is the No. 2 seed.

If OU beats Michigan, which went 20-11 this season, the Sooners could potentially face a St. John's team that went 22-9, including a victory of Connecticut, which earned the top seed in the Kingston (R.I.) Region.

The two winners in Norman on Sunday will play at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lloyd Noble Center. All three games will be on ESPN2.

“I'm very proud,” Coale said. “I'm excited for our team and fans. Our team has worked hard.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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