How Does OSU’s NCAA Tournament Résumé Compare to OU’s?

It’s that time of year, folks. Next time you turn on your television and hear NCAA Tournament talk, those familiar buzz words of “blind résumé” and “bubble team” and “strength of schedule” will once again be at the forefront of the conversation from now until Selection Sunday.

That’s because with the regular season all but in the books, prognosticators are now given freedom to project where things stand in the NCAA Tournament picture, where things might eventually land, and, ultimately, who’s in and who will be left on the wrong side of the dreaded bubble.

This year, the buzz word is “Quadrants,” a metric used to determine how a team has fared against each specific tier of competition, from one through four. So in the spirit of the best time of the year, let’s play a little blind résumé comparing two teams with committee-based metrics like RPI and the Quadrant system, eh?

Team 1

• Overall record: 17-12
• Conference record: 7-10
• RPI: 37
• Strength of record: 29
• Record vs. Quadrant 1 teams: 6-9
• Record vs. Quadrant 2 teams: 3-3
• Strength of schedule rank: No. 1

Team 2:

• Overall record: 17-13
• Conference record: 7-10
• RPI: 95
• Strength of record: 61
• Record vs. Quadrant 1 teams: 4-11
• Record vs. Quadrant 2 teams: 3-2
• Strength of schedule rank: No. 12

All right, you know by now that I’m comparing Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Team 1? It’s Oklahoma. The Cowboys are Team 2, and it’s pretty clear they lack in two specific areas: Quadrant 1 wins and RPI, both of which OU can hang its hat on.

Here’s a look at OU’s team sheet, which is essentially a snapshot of its overall resume with all relevant metrics included. It helps the committee evaluate teams quickly, specifically with side-by-side comparisons.

And here’s a look at Oklahoma State’s.

Nevermind the fact that the Sooners haven’t snagged a Quad 1 win in February and have lost seven of eight, the totality of their work is still a smidge more impressive in both Quadrant 1 wins, RPI, and strength of schedule, an ESPN-based metric based off the BPI.

So what does this mean for OSU? In the grand scheme, it means that OSU’s RPI is no bueno, and its resume, which will soon be compared with bubble team OU and other similar fringe tourney teams, doesn’t hold much weight as things stand now.

However, Oklahoma State has one final regular season opportunity to snag a Quad 1 win on Saturday vs. Kansas, while OU plays Quad 2 Iowa State this weekend. A win over Big 12 winner Kansas would boost the dossier for Mike Boynton’s crew tenfold, and furthermore, it would give the committee something to chew on.

Do they want to take a team like OU that stinks right now? Or, a team like Oklahoma State, that has been up-and-down but proven it can hang with the big dogs like Kansas, West Virginia and others?

Come Selection Sunday, it likely won’t be an either OU/or OSU scenario for the selection committee. But as OU continues to slide and OSU continues to battle, the two resumes are closer than many think — and the two, for totally different reasons — may be among the more polarizing teams to evaluate when the season’s in the books.