NORMAN, Okla. - The white-hot IUPUI Jaguars (24-6, 18-4 HL) have already put together the best season in school history. They've won 19 of their last 20 games and might have an even more impressive record were it not for two controversial forfeit losses in mid-November against Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne. More importantly, IUPUI peaked at the right time, winning all three Horizon League Tournament games (by an average of 20-plus points each) en route to its second-ever conference championship.
 
Now the No. 13 seed Jaguars are heading to Norman, Oklahoma for the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. They face a Bridgeport Region clash on Saturday night with the No. 4 seed Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center. It will be IUPUI's third-ever game against a current member of the Big 12, and possibly its first win.
 
The Jaguars have not played a Big 12 opponent in the last 10 years. Historically they are 0-2 against Kansas and 0-1 against Kansas State and Iowa State.
 
"It means so much to be able to represent IUPUI in the tournament," said Rachel McLimore, an All-Horizon Second Team and All-Horizon Defensive Team selection. "A lot of people do not know much about our school and our team so it's really cool to be able to show them on the national stage what a special program we have here."
 
IUPUI won the 2020 Horizon League Basketball Tournament, but the Jaguars had their March Madness dreams dashed by COVID-19. Oklahoma hasn't been to the Big Dance since 2018 (and hasn't won there since 2017), but will be making its 22^nd overall NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
So how did we get here? On Tuesday, March 8, the Jaguars held off Cleveland State 61-54 in this year's Horizon League Championship game. The Vikings erased an 18-point third-quarter deficit and came within two with 3:29 to go, but Destiny Perkins sealed IUPUI's win by scoring 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. Four-time conference Player of the Year Macee Williams added 19 points and 18 rebounds.
 
The Jaguars have never played Oklahoma before, but know they can compete with Power Five teams. IUPUI began its season with a hard-fought 67-62 overtime loss to Michigan before upsetting the Iowa Hawkeyes 74-73. (Iowa, of course, is the newly-minted Big Ten champion).
 
"High-major teams don't scare us," head coach Austin Parkinson said. "At this time of year, you're always going to play a really good opponent. I know Oklahoma is a high-powered offense, and they've got a really good coach, so it'll be a great challenge."
 
Said coach, Jennie Baranczyk, has helmed an impressive one-year turnaround in Norman. Oklahoma (24-8 overall, 12-6 conference) finished fourth in the Big 12 this year after going 8-22, 12-18 and 12-12 in three prior seasons. Baranczyk is the first Sooner head coach to win 24 games in her first year on the job, and her team defended home court with a 13-3 record at Lloyd Noble Center.
 
Oklahoma boasts the Big 12's highest-scoring offense at 83.3 PPG, enough for No. 3 in the country. Two seniors, wing Madi Williams and guard Taylor Robertson, lead the charge: Williams is fourth in Big 12 scoring (18.2 PPG), and Robertson fifth (17.0 PPG). Both have been cornerstones of the program upon arrival four years ago.
 
It remains to be seen whether the Sooners will have their fourth-leading scorer, Skylar Vann (11.8 PPG). The sophomore injured her knee in Oklahoma's Big 12 semifinal loss to Baylor and left the court on crutches. Baranczyk told the media that Vann might be able to play on Saturday, but her status is not guaranteed.
 
The Sooners' most glaring statistical weakness is on defense: they allow a conference-worst 76.0 PPG. Meanwhile IUPUI allows just 55.7 PPG, good for second in the Horizon League and 24^th nationally. Both guard the 3-point line well: Oklahoma limits foes to 28.6 percent from beyond the arc (second in the Big 12) and IUPUI allows just 24.8 percent (best in the Horizon League).
 
Interestingly, McLimore is one of two Jaguars with past experience against the Sooners. She played two minutes in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, grabbing a rebound as her former team DePaul vanquished Oklahoma 90-79. Also, graduate student Madison Wise faced the Sooners many times in her four years at Iowa State, although that was before Baranczyk became head coach.
 
In any case, the Jaguars feel ready for their first March Madness appearance despite facing a brand-new opponent.
 
"We scout pretty well," said All-Horizon Third Team wing Rachel Kent. "We get into the nitty-gritty of what teams do. So I don't really think it has been a hard shift to scout [Oklahoma] just because we are prepared, and we've been going over stuff like this for so long."
 
Watch IUPUI play its first NCAA Tournament game against Oklahoma on Saturday at 10 PM ET on ESPNU.