Women's Hoops Faces Indiana in Second Round on Monday

NORMAN – No. 18 Oklahoma will try to punch a ticket to its first Sweet 16 since 2013 on Monday night when it takes on No. 14 Indiana in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship.

The fifth-seeded Sooners (23-9, 15-3 Big 12 ) dispatched FGCU, 73-70, on Saturday afternoon to lock in a battle on Monday with the fourth-seeded Hoosiers (25-5, 15-3 Big Ten) at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

One of the most consistently dominant women's basketball programs since 2000, the Sooners are playing in their 24th all-time NCAA Tournament and 22nd since the turn of the century. After winning their second straight Big 12 regular season championship, and first outright since 2009, the Sooners make their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, as head coach Jennie Baranczyk has taken the program to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons.

Oklahoma's first- and second-round games are played in Bloomington, Ind., at Assembly Hall, home of No. 4 seed and host Indiana.

THE STARTING FIVE

The Sooners are 36-23 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and have won at least one game in 20 of the program's 24 berths. Oklahoma has been to 10 Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights and three Final Fours, finishing as the national runner-up in 2002.
Oklahoma's No. 5 seed marks its third straight top-five seed of the Baranczyk era, marking the first time OU has been a fifth seed or better in three consecutive seasons since 2008-10. Oklahoma was a No. 5 seed last year and is 5-3 all-time on the No. 5 line.
The Bloomington Pod in the Albany 1 Region is the only first- and second-round site that featured three teams in the AP Top 25, as No. 14 Indiana, No. 18 Oklahoma, and No. 25 Fairfield all appear in the latest edition of the poll. Those three, combined with FGCU's 29 wins, have combined for 108 wins this season, second most of any pod in the bracket behind Los Angeles' UCLA pod, which has 110.
AP All-America honorable mention Skylar Vann was named Big 12 Co-Player of the Year, becoming the first Sooner to win the league's top honor since Courtney Paris in 2009. Payton Verhulst was tabbed as the league's Newcomer of the Year, and Jennie Baranczyk was voted the Big 12 Coach of the Year. Vann and Verhulst were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Nevaeh Tot and Sahara Williams claimed All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades.
The Sooners enter March Madness ranked 18th in the AP Poll and 21st in the WBCA Coaches Poll.

KNOW YOUR FOE

Indiana is the No. 4 seed in the bracket and boasts a 25-5 record and finished second in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers dispatched Fairfield, 89-56, in Saturday's first-round game.

Led by All-American Mackenzie Holmes (19.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG) and sharpshooter Sara Scalia (16.5 PPG, 43.5 3P%), Indiana is among the nation's leader in field goal percentage and points per game, and are tied with Oklahoma in strength of schedule (11th). The Hoosiers are undefeated (16-0) at Assembly Hall this season and are shooting over 40% from deep on the year.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's meeting is the first all-time between Oklahoma and Indiana.

Oklahoma is 42-35 all-time vs. Big Ten teams and 1-0 under Jennie Baranczyk (vs. Minnesota, 2021).

UP NEXT

With a win, Oklahoma would advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2013 where it would take on the winner of the matchup featuring overall No. 1 seed South Carolina and No. 8 seed North Carolina. That game is set for Friday, March 29 in Albany, N.Y.