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Behind the bracket: When losing gets overlooked

AP Photo/Alonzo Adams

Oklahoma lost again Monday night. It was the Sooners' fifth straight defeat and seventh in their past nine games.

Overall, Oklahoma is 4-9 since the calendar turned to 2019 and just 3-9 in the Big 12. Realistically, the Sooners figure to be favored in no more than two or three of their remaining regular-season games.

Yet here they are, still appearing in most bracket projections, same as a year ago despite a similar collapse down the stretch (4-11 after Jan. 13). The only difference is that this season's losing began a little earlier.

The point here is not to pick on Oklahoma. Hopefully the Sooners turn it around and reclaim their early-season promise. The point is that losing doesn't matter enough in the NCAA selection process. More specifically, consistent losing is now consistently overlooked.

And that's nuts.