We could spend days (and I’m sure some will try) arguing why Oklahoma should or shouldn’t have been included in the NCAA Tournament but at the end of the day the Sooners were not included in the field and no amount of rehashing schedule strength, wins, losses, and net rankings, is going to change that. The disappointment of not heading to a regional site will do one of two things. It’ll either send OU into the NIT hungry to prove themselves to the world or it’ll send them into a funk that produces an uncanny postseason upset by a team that actually deserves to be included in the lesser of the tournaments. It won’t take long to see which of the two results we’ll get either as Oklahoma is set to host Missouri State in the opener of the NIT at 6:00 Tuesday evening.
Oklahoma drew a #1 seed and will have the opportunity play in Norman until they are either eliminated or head to New York City for the Final Four.
Oklahoma, North Texas, Virginia, and Colorado all host first round games in OU’s portion of the bracket. Should the Sooners move past Missouri State they are most likely looking at a home match up with former Big 12 opponent Colorado for a berth in the Sweet 16. The four top seeds, in no particular order, for this year’s NIT are Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Dayton, and SMU.
2022 NIT schedule
| ROUND | DATES |
|---|---|
| First | March 15-16 |
| Second | March 19-20 |
| Quarterfinals | March 22-23 |
| Semifinals | March 29 |
| Championship | March 31 |
Missouri State will come to Norman with a 23-10 record. The Bears are led by junior guard Isiaih Mosley who is averaging 20.1 points, 2.4 assist, and 1.2 steals per game. Senior forward Gaige Prim averages 8 rebounds per game.
Missouri State advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament before falling to the eventual runner-up Drake by a score of 79-78.
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