To advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five seasons, Iowa will need to do something on Monday that Lisa Bluder never did and that no Iowa team has done since 1993: win a second round game on an opponent’s court. Iowa did win a second round game away from home in 2021 — but that was the COVID-impacted tournament, when all of the games were played on neutral sites in and around San Antonio.

You have to go back to 1993 and an Iowa win at Old Dominion to find a second round win for the Hawkeyes in a true road game. This year, Iowa will need to defeat 3-seed Oklahoma on its home floor to make it back to the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive season.

Oklahoma went 26-7 this season overall and 11-5 in SEC play and, like Iowa, the Sooners were one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch. After falling to 4-5 in league play on February 2, Oklahoma ran off seven wins in a row to wrap up the regular season, then added two more wins in the SEC Tournament before losing to South Carolina in the semifinals. This is a Sooner team playing with a lot of confidence heading into Monday’s game.

G Lucy Olsen (5’10”; 17.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 44.0 FG%, 35.2 3FG%)

G Kylie Feuerbach (6’0″; 6.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.4 apg; 37.2 FG%, 28.1 3FG%)

G Taylor McCabe (5’9″; 6.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 41.5 FG%, 40.6 3FG%)

F Sydney Affolter (5’11”; 8.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 49.5 FG%, 48.1 3FG%)

F Hannah Stuelke (6’2″; 12.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 50.0 FG%, 11.8 3FG%)

G Payton Verhulst (6’1″, 14.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.5 spg, 42.6 FG%, 34.8 3FG%)

G Reyna Scott (5’10”, 4.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 45.6 FG%, 26.8 3FG%)

F Sahara Williams (5’11”, 10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 40.7 FG%, 29.8 3FG%)

F Skylar Vann (6’0″, 9.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 41.0 FG%, 25.8 3FG%)

C Raegan Beers (6’4″, 17.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 bpg, 65.0 FG%, 37.9 3FG%)

From one high-scoring offense to another — on Saturday, Iowa faced Murray State, who entered the game with the leading scoring offense in the nation (87.9 ppg). On Monday, Iowa faces Oklahoma, who enters the game with the… fifth-leading scoring offense in the country at 85.1 ppg. Iowa smothered the Racers, holding them to a season-low 57 points and just 5-of-30 shooting from distance.

Oklahoma looks like a much more formidable test for Iowa than Murray State, though. The Sooners are 11th overall in Bart Torvik’s rankings and they achieved that lofty ranking by being good on both ends of the floor. Oklahoma ranks 23rd in offensive efficiency and have been even better on defense, ranking 11th in defensive efficiency.

The Sooners strength on comes from their ability to shoot the ball — and their ability to crash the offensive glass. Oklahoma is 25th nationally in effective FG% (52.1%) and that number is fueled primarily by their ability to make 2-point shots; they rank 9th nationally in 2-point field goal percentage, at 54.5%. The Sooners aren’t as proficient from long range — 32.2% from beyond the arc,128th nationally — so it tracks that they rank just 82nd in three-point rate.

Oklahoma also makes sure to emphasize rebounding; the Sooners are 25th nationally in offensive rebounding rate, grabbing 37.5% of their misses. They’ve been even better at preventing opponents from getting their misses, too; ranking 11th nationally in that category on defense and allowing opponents to claim just 24.7% of their misses this year. The Sooners are second in the nation in total rebounds per game (47.5) and defensive rebounds per game (32.8).

On top of that, Oklahoma is also an elite passing team with crisp ball movement and a keen willingness to set up teammates for good looks and easy baskets. Oklahoma leads the nation in assists this season (21.9 per game) and that’s largely a function of team-wide distribution — seven different players are averaging at least 1.8 assists per game this season and only one is averaging more than 2.7 assists per game.

On defense, Oklahoma’s strengths mimic their strengths on offense. The Sooners don’t force a lot of turnovers (282nd in turnovers forced) and they have a good-not-excellent free throw rate (127th), but they’re excellent at contesting shots and keeping opponents from collecting their misses.

Opponents have an effective FG% of 41.9% against Oklahoma, which ranks 21st nationally. Opponents have converted only 41.4% of their 2-point attempts (30th) and 28.7% of their 3-point tries (50th) against the Sooners. Good luck getting one of those missed shots back as well — as noted, opponents get just 24.7% of their missed baskets this year (11th nationally).

While Iowa enjoyed a significant size advantage against Murray State (especially after the Racers’ star player, Katelyn Young, left early in the third quarter with an injury), that won’t be the case against Oklahoma. The Sooners start four players 5’11” or taller, led by Oregon State transfer Raegan Beers in the middle, a 6’4″ post with tremendous length and skill.

Despite averaging only 22.2 minutes per game, Beers leads the Sooners in scoring (17.7 ppg), rebounding (9.2 rpg), and blocks (1.1 bpg), all while shooting a hyper-efficient 65.0% from the floor. While almost 90% of her attempts have been inside the 3-point line, she’s flashed some floor-stretching ability as well, making 37.9% of her 3-point efforts, albeit on just 29 attempts. Keeping her in check is going to take a massive effort from Hannah Stuelke, Ava Heiden, and Addison O’Grady.

Guard Payton Verhulst provides some outside scoring pop to help balance Beers’ post production. She’s a well-rounded player, ranking second on the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) and serving as the ringleader of the Sooners’ passing attack (team-high 4.0 assists per game). While Beers does most of her damage in the paint and around the rim, Verhulst is one of Oklahoma’s top outside threats, launching almost seven three-pointers per game and converting on 34.8% of those tries.

Sahara Williams, who played at Waterloo West as a prep and was an Iowa target in recruiting, is the final Sooner averaging in double figures at 10.5 ppg, alongside 4.7 rpg and 2.2 apg. Williams, alongside fellow starting forward Skylar Vann (9.8 ppg, 4.79 rpg, 2.7 apg) have been two of Oklahoma’s more willing 3-point shooters, ranking second and fourth on the team in long range attempts, though they’ve only made 29.8% and 25.8% of their 3-poitn tries, respectively.

Williams isn’t even the only Iowan on the OU roster, as the Sooners also have Aubrey Joens, an Iowa City native who started her college career at Iowa State before transferring to Oklahoma two seasons ago. She has played a limited role this season, averaging 2.2 ppg in 5.7 minutes of action.

Reyna Scott rounds out the expected starting five for Oklahoma; she’s averaged 4.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, and 2.1 apg this season while shooting 45.6% from the floor (26.8% from deep). But Oklahoma is a team that’s not afraid to go deep into its bench for players — at least 10 Sooners are averaging at least 14 minutes per game and eight players are averaging at five points per game.

Guards Zya Vann and Lexy Keys and forward Liz Scott have been three of the most prominent Sooners off the bench. Vann (15.3 minutes per game) has averaged 7.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and 1.9 apg on 42.4% shooting from the field (36.2% from 3-point range). Keys (21.1 mpg) has been a major weapon from outside, averaging 3.9 triples per game and making 35.4% of those long range efforts. Scott (14.0 mpg) provides size of the bench (6’2″) and has contributed 6.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 1.3 apg on 53.0% shooting from the floor.

The Hawkeyes played one of their best games of the season to demolish Murray State in the opening round; they’ll likely need to summon a similar effort in order to knock off an Oklahoma team that has significant length and depth alongside one of the most potent offenses in the country this year.