WBB Game Preview: Oklahoma Opens Postseason at SEC Tournament Thursday

Thursday, March 5

Bon Secours Wellness Arena • Greenville, S.C.

12:30 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

Florida or Mississippi State

NORMAN, OK - February 26, 2026 - Oklahoma Guard Aaliyah Chavez (#2) during the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK. Photo By Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma

Photo by: Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma

WBB Game Preview: Oklahoma Opens Postseason at SEC Tournament Thursday

March 04, 2026 | Women's Basketball

SEC Tournament Info Full Bracket Watch Listen

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN — Fifth-seeded and No. 7 Oklahoma (23-6, 11-5 SEC) opens postseason play Thursday at the SEC Tournament, facing either No. 12 seed Florida or No. 13 seed Mississippi State at 12:30 p.m. CT inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

The game will air on SEC Network with Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Tamika Catchings (analyst), while fans can listen on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (1520 AM) with Brian Brinkley and Tyler Neal, or in Spanish on Los Sooners Radio (1560 AM) with Danny Gonzales. Both radio broadcasts will stream on the Varsity App.

Last season in Greenville, Oklahoma entered as the No. 5 seed and advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Sooners defeated Georgia in the second round and Kentucky in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion South Carolina.

FAN INFORMATION
The game will air on SEC Network and on the Sooner Sports Radio Network by Brian Brinkley and Tyler Neal.

Fans can follow live stats throughout the game, and tickets remain available through the Southeastern Conference.

LAST TIME OUT

No. 7 Oklahoma (23-6, 11-5) closed the regular season with its sixth straight win, an 84-78 road victory at Missouri. The Sooners secured the No. 5 seed at the SEC Tournament and advanced to face the winner of No. 12 Florida and No. 13 Mississippi State. The win marked OU's 28th straight over an unranked opponent, improving the Sooners to 17-0 against teams outside the AP Top 25 in 2025-26. Oklahoma has not lost to a Quad 2-4 opponent since the quadrant system was adopted before last season, a 36-game streak.

A program-record three Sooners recorded double-doubles in the win: Raegan Beers (23 points, 10 rebounds), Payton Verhulst (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Sahara Williams (13 points, 10 rebounds). Aaliyah Chavez added 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, finishing the regular season as the SEC's leading freshman scorer. She was the only freshman nationally to average at least 18.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game, and one of two freshmen since 2009, joining UConn's Paige Bueckers in 2021, to reach those marks while averaging 3.0 turnovers or fewer.

SERIES HISTORY

Thursday would be the fifth all-time meeting between Oklahoma and Florida, and the fourth in the Baranczyk era. All-time OU leads the series 3-1 and is 3-0 under Baranczyk. The Sooners beat the Gators 81-74 on Feb. 12 in Norman behind Zya Vann's 18 points. The Sooners had to rally from a 48-35 deficit to come from behind and win. The 13-point deficit was Oklahoma's largest overcome in a win this season and marked the program's biggest comeback in conference play since erasing a 15-point deficit vs. Texas (Feb. 28, 2024).

Thursday would mark the fifth all-time meeting between Oklahoma and Mississippi State, and the fourth of the Baranczyk era. OU leads the all-time series 3-1 and is 2-1 under Jennie Baranczyk. The Sooners notched their second-largest margin of victory in conference game ever earlier this season, beating the Bulldogs 95-47 in Norman.

THE FAST BREAK

• Oklahoma placed two players on the All-SEC teams as Raegan Beers earned first-team honors for the second straight season and freshman Aaliyah Chavez was named to the Second Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. Chavez was also tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, tying the league record for most Freshman of the Week honors in a season. Chavez was the only freshman selected to an All-SEC team this year.

• Oklahoma enters the postseason ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25 and is one of five top-10 teams competing in Greenville this week. On March 1, the NCAA Selection Committee tabbed the Sooners as the nation's No. 12 overall team, positioning OU as a No. 3 seed and in line to host NCAA Tournament games for the second consecutive season.

• A member of the Big 8 from 1982-96 and the Big 12 Conference from 1996-2024, Oklahoma has been a cornerstone of women's basketball success since the program's inception in 1975 and is now bringing that pedigree to the SEC. The Sooners have won 13 conference titles, including four postseason championships (2002, 2004, 2006, and 2007), and secured back-to-back Big 12 regular season crowns in 2023 and 2024. Since 2000, OU has appeared in 23 NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Final Four three times and reaching 10 Sweet 16s.

• A win would give OU seven straight, marking the sixth seven-game winning streak of the Jennie Baranczyk era. The Sooners had a 13-game streak earlier this season, have produced a seven-game streak in every season under Baranczyk, including a seven-game winning streak to close the 2025 regular season.

• The Sooners are averaging a program-record 87.1 points per game, fourth nationally and ahead of last season's school-record 84.7. Oklahoma's starting five combine for 69.7 points per game, the second-highest total in the country behind South Carolina. OU has set a program record with seven 100-point games and tied the school mark with 12 games of 90 or more. The Sooners lead the nation in pace (79.0) and rank second in second-chance points (17.5), fifth in fast-break points (16.7) and assists (20.1), and sixth in points in the paint (43.3).

UP NEXT

If Oklahoma wins on Thursday, it will face fourth-seeded LSU on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Tigers defeated the Sooners in Norman, 91-72, earlier this season.