Sooners Set For Semifinal Showdown With Iowa State

KANSAS CITY – A spot in the Oklahoma's first Big 12 Championship final since 2010 is on the line Saturday when the No. 2-seeded Sooners take on No. 3-seeded Iowa State at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals. The winner of Saturday's contest will take on the victor of the Texas vs. Oklahoma State matchup on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday's tip is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. with Brenda VanLengen and Holly Warlick on the call for ESPN+, as Brian Brinkley and Kevin Henry call the action on the Sooner Radio Network.

The Sooners knocked off TCU, 77-76, in the quarterfinals on Friday night behind 21 points from Skylar Vann, who hit the go-ahead bucket with 2.2 seconds on the clock. With Saturday's appearance in the semifinal, it will mark the second consecutive season that head coach Jennie Baranczyk has led OU to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinal.

THE FAST BREAK

Oklahoma is hunting its fifth Big 12 postseason championship and the league's AQ bid to punch its ticket to its 21st NCAA Tournament since 2000. At last season's championship, Oklahoma defeated Kansas in the quarterfinal before falling to Baylor in the semis. In all-time Big 12 semifinals, Oklahoma is 6-9 and reached the championship game six times in a 10-year run that stretched from 2001 to 2010.
In Oklahoma's 77-76 comeback win over TCU in the quarterfinals, OU notched its first win of the year against a Big 12 team without scoring 80 points. The double-digit comeback marked OU's fifth of the season and 12th under Baranczyk. The Sooners improved to 9-0 over the last two seasons in one-possession games, and Oklahoma hasn't lost a game decided by five points or fewer since Nov. 20, 2021, vs. No. 9 Oregon - a 98-93 loss in Baranczyk's fourth game as the Oklahoma head coach.
One of the most successful regular seasons in program history saw No. 14/12 Oklahoma (25-5, 14-4) win its seventh Big 12 championship after the Sooners shared the regular season title with Texas. The Sooners posted sweeps over TCU, K-State, Texas Tech, Kansas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State in the regular season, setting a program record with six season sweeps. In addition, the team's 14 wins in conference play were the most since a 15-1 record in 2009 en route to a Final Four berth.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's meeting is the 73rd all-time between the Sooners and Cyclones, with Oklahoma maintaining a 42-30 series advantage. The teams split this season, with the home team winning on their home floor each time. Oklahoma has met Iowa State seven times at neutral sites, with the 'Clones holding a 4-3 advantage. But out of those seven meetings, just one has come in Kansas City - a 68-65 ISU win on March 10, 2001, in the championship final.

LAST TIME OUT

A Skylar Vann layup with 2.2 seconds left on the clock pushed No. 14 Oklahoma past TCU, 77-76, and into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals on Friday night. The No. 2-seeded Sooners (25-5, 14-4) needed all 21 of Vann's points to preserve the program's hope for a fifth postseason Big 12 championship. Oklahoma erased TCU's (8-23, 1-17) double-digit lead in the first half to mark the team's fifth double-digit comeback of the season. Oklahoma's 26 assists on 28 made field goals marked the highest assist percentage for Oklahoma in a single game since the formation of the Big 12. OU outrebounded TCU 37-36, and shot 42.2% from the floor. The Sooners hit 10 3-pointers for the 30th time of the Baranczyk era, improving to 27-3 when doing so.

UP NEXT

With a win, Oklahoma would advance to its first Big 12 Championship final since 2010. It would play the winner of the top-seeded Texas vs. No. 4-seeded Oklahoma State matchup on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.