Joe Lunardi reveals importance of regular season finale between Texas, Oklahoma

With two games remaining in the regular season, Texas and Oklahoma find themselves in similar positions. With poor closing efforts, they could be on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament while a win or two would cement their spots in the field.

The kicker? Saturday will bring a matchup between the two Red River rivals.

A few days from tip-off, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi broke down the importance of the finale between Texas and Oklahoma. Lunardi says the result will be a whole lot bigger for the loser than the winner.

“What a big-time closing game against Texas,” Lunardi said of Oklahoma. “That may not be a play-in game for either of those teams but it certainly will be a play-out.”

Neither Texas nor Oklahoma were in Lunardi’s projected field heading into Tuesday. The Sooners were higher on the seed line by three but both were a part of the ‘First Four Out’ group. Porter Moser‘s squad would just have to leapfrog one spot while the Longhorns have a tougher climb.

Before meeting each other, there are other games to play. Texas takes the court first on Tuesday with a road trip to Starkville. A great chance to get a quality win before the rivalry matchup.

One day later, Oklahoma will have its final home game of the year from the Lloyd Noble Center. Missouri will be the opponent and like Texas, presents an opportunity to beat a team squarely in the NCAA Tournament and boost the resume.

Either way, Saturday from the Moody Center is going to be a massive game for both teams. Winning will be quite sweet but according to Lunardi, losing will be even more devastating.

Texas beat Oklahoma in Norman earlier this season

We do have a data point for how Texas and Oklahoma fare against each other. Norman hosted the first-ever SEC showdown between the two and Texas earned a four-point win, 77-73. Some massive scoring nights were the storyline all the way back on Jan. 15.

Oklahoma relied on Jalon Moore (29 points) and Jeremiah Fears (20) as no other player was in double figures. On the other end, Texas had all five starters with at least 10 points. Jordan Pope had a career day with 27 points on nine of 17 shooting from the field.

Both head coaches will take those kinds of performances on Saturday as Texas looks for a sweep and Oklahoma fights for a split.