It wasn’t unusual during this Big 12 basketball season for teams to hit a pretty big skid. It’s just when it comes to Oklahoma, the Sooners couldn’t have picked a worse time.

Just two weeks ago, Lon Kruger’s group was 14-5 overall and 9-4 in the Big 12 and sitting pretty at No. 7 overall in the nation and No. 2 in the conference.

Four losses in a row, and the Sooners went from No. 7 in the nation to the No. 7 seed in the Big 12 tournament, forced to play on the opening night Wednesday vs. No. 10 Iowa State.

With nearly a week off since the loss to Texas last Thursday, it was time to physically and mentally regroup and get ready for the best weeks of the year.

“It was an opportunity to sharpen some things up, an opportunity to get treatment away from the competition, rehab a little bit more,” Kruger said. “All of those things you don’t get when you are playing three games in six, seven days. Again, it’s tournament time. It’s a great time of the year. Everyone gets a boost energy-wise from that. The players love it. It’s a great time.”

OU has fallen to No. 25 in the rankings, but if you examine the four losses, it literally was a possession here or there that could have changed things.

The Sooners lost all those games by five points or less, including one in overtime. This was their time to experience the rough patch. Outside of Baylor whose only real opponent this season has been COVID-19, the rest of the loaded seven in the conference all went through a similar patch.

Kansas, Texas and Texas Tech all had three-game losing streaks. Oklahoma State had a two-game streak and a three of four stretch. Only West Virginia avoided a two-game losing streak, but the Mountaineers are coming in this week having lost two of three in the previous week themselves.

“I definitely think it gave us some hunger,” said Elijah Harkless about the weekend off. “It gave us time to prepare and really harp on that we did drop four in a row and have to get better. I think it’s great we had that time. Our bodies have taken a toll and can get better that way. Mentally, regroup.”

Even when OU was making history in January with the back-to-back-to-back wins against top 10 opponents (Kansas, at Texas, Alabama), it’s not like the games were blowouts.

Only three of OU’s 17 conference games were decided by more than 10 points. Sooners were 2-1 in those games. In other words, everybody knows it’s going to be a grind this week in Kansas City.

“I think competition in the Big 12 helps prepare all teams for what lies ahead because you've had so many close games and so many late-game experiences and just the understanding of how critical each possession is,” Kruger said. “If you want to create that mindset for 40 minutes, it's obviously more easily done in the last couple, three minutes because it really is the last few possessions of a ballgame. I think that experience for Big 12 teams across the board, anytime you play in a conference like this, it hardens you up and prepares you for what lies ahead.”

Welcome to the COVID era tournament

It has been nearly 365 days since OU was getting ready to play in the Big 12 tournament last season before everything came to a halt because of COVID-19.

Despite multiple interruptions, several games not featuring prominent members, the Sooners have made it through the season and are as healthy as can be this week.

The protocols are going to be as strict as possible as the NCAA makes its way into a quasi-bubble for the next month, but Kruger said the players have adjusted well throughout the season. Getting tested for COVID every day will be different, but that has been the story of the 2020-21 season for everybody.

“It’s pretty much standard across the country going into the tournaments,” Kruger said. “It’s kind of a bubble, if you will. There’s very limited contact, if any, with anyone outside your 34-person travel party. Going to Indianapolis, it will be exactly the same thing.

“The players have dealt with some form of that all year, of course, in terms of not being normal contact. But this will be an extreme for everyone that’s involved. They’ve handled a lot of things – all players across the country – have handled a lot of things on the year. They are somewhat used to it, but this will be somewhat different, still.”

Reaves finally gets his shot

Austin Reaves has become such a huge part of the program during the last two seasons that it’s almost hard to remember when OU plays ISU, it will be Reaves’ first Big 12 tournament game.

Flashback to last year, and Reaves was coming off a career performance in scoring 41 points and helping OU come back at TCU and earn the No. 3 seed.

But obviously, there was no tournament. Now Reaves gets that chance.

“It's really exciting. You always are excited for opportunities to go out and play basketball,” Reaves said. “And with everything that happened last year, not having the opportunity to play, it really stung a lot of people with all the shutdowns and stuff. But I mean, it's life, things happen, you gotta adjust.

“Now we have the opportunity to do so and really just gotta cherish every moment. You're not gonna have this group of guys together for long, so you really just cherish each moment with everybody and just really live in the moment.”

Reaves earned first-team All-Big 12 on Monday, a very well-deserved honor. Reaves is averaging 17.5 points per game, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists and leads the league in free throw shooting percentage (87.1 percent).

As it stands, Reaves is about to become the first OU player to ever lead the team in points, rebounds and assists since, well, ever.