Sad news for Oklahoma Sooners:I wish never play again

Oklahoma Sooners once again demonstrated their unfitness to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

Thus, the Trae Young era at Oklahoma concludes with the (occasionally) outstanding freshman class of the Sooners once more at the depressing end of a line for a handshake.

Granted, Young and the rest of his OU teammates should have finished their college careers, at least as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned.

After Oklahoma State defeated OU 70–61 in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, it was either imperative that you were present or perhaps it was best that you weren’t

Young might have only assisted in Oklahoma’s collapse in the second half. However, the player who was once considered the national player of the year was also a symptom.

OU has dropped 10 of its previous 14 games and eight of its last 10. On Wednesday night, it was outrebounded 53-27, outscored 19-2 in second-chance points, and outrebounding 18-5 on the offensive glass, losing nearly all of its hustle points.

Young finished with 22 points on 7 of 21 shots, as he usually does, but there was a sense of closure to this performance.

Anyone up for NIT?

“Instead of taking care of business we left it in the committee’s hands,” said Young. “Our resume, in my opinion, speaks for itself. We probably had the hardest schedule in all of America.”

We have been emerging devoid of vitality and appearing lifeless. Brady Manek, a freshman for OU, said, “We don’t keep it up for the whole game.” “We need to put in more effort and have a desire to win. We kind of lost it at the start of the season after having it at first.”

At the conclusion of that handshake line, Cowboys forward Mitchell Solomon appeared to put his own stamp of finality on it by facing Young.

“I told him I respected him,” the six-foot-nine Solomon said, bending down to speak with the six-two Young. “I might not like him all the time being an Oklahoma guy, but I respected him.”

This is not a one-time event. When he signed one of the best prospects in the country, Lon Kruger had that thought in mind.

Coach Kruger is a Hall of Famer. Five of his teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Two years ago, he led Oklahoma to the Final Four. But it’s difficult to describe this season.

This season, Kruger gave it everything he had; he tried switching up lineups and occasionally took Young off the ball. Right now, it’s difficult to remember victories from earlier in the season against Oregon, USC, Kansas, and Wichita State.

Two victories for Oklahoma since January 30.

It’s really disappointing, according to Kruger.

The Sooners’ official fate will be determined on Sunday by the men’s selection committee. But now, it’s really, really difficult to defend the Sooners.

It was a terrible optical illusion. Oklahoma didn’t necessarily have to win, but the committee will always remember you for basically being run out of the building when you go out like this.

It appeared as though the team that had won national player of the year didn’t want to be there. In every aspect, the team that placed second last in the conference was defeated.

Do I need to continue? Someone has to ask the Indianapolis selection committee, “Why are the Sooners (18-13) viewed as a lock?” As of now, only reputation matters. They last prevailed on the road in the Big 12 opener on December 30 at TCU last year.

Because it was a neutral-site competition, it was simpler.

The Sooners were never the same after losing by eighteen points. Perhaps Young was unable to withstand the demands of conference play. Perhaps it’s because he didn’t receive enough assistance.

Even so, it’s difficult to accept. Young missed 39 shots in four days following the K-State defeat, making only 14. The Sooners were defeated by Oklahoma State in overtime.

It hinted at something. The Cowboys improved this season, while Oklahoma declined. In his first season, Kansas was swept by coach Mike Boyton. Against the top three teams in what some have dubbed the best league in the country (Kansas, Texas Tech, West Virginia), the Cowboys finished 4-2.

They won two of three against the despised Sooners. Young shot a pitiful 36 percent (28 of 77) in the end.

By no means did I anticipate finding myself in this situation, Young admitted on Wednesday night. “I obviously expected us to keep winning and hopefully have a chance to get a 1-seed or 2-seed or up in that range.”

A play-in date in Dayton next week doesn’t seem all that bad after Wednesday night.