Utah at Oklahoma

Recap

The Big Storyline: A lot of fans expected this one to be close from beginning to end, but a stellar opening vault rotation from the Sooners put them in control from the beginning. A season-high 49.650 gave Oklahoma a lead that it did not relinquish—even with some stumbles on balance beam from both teams. In the end, the Sooners matched their season-high score from the Super 16 while Utah hit its second-highest team score of the season.

Implications: With Michigan’s loss to Michigan State, Oklahoma will remain the No. 1 team nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12. Utah will be at the top of the Pac-12 and move up to fourth nationally even with a loss.

Controversies: While it ended up being dropped, Ragan Smith’s bars score was conferenced on by the judges after she had to do an extra swing after her Pak salto, typically a three-tenth deduction. The judges ultimately gave her a 9.700.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 5 Utah at No. 1 Oklahoma

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Rounding out the weekend may be the most exciting matchup of the week, with a top-five showdown between two teams expected to contend for the NCAA title in a few months. Leading the way for the Sooners has been Jordan Bowers, who made her way into the beam lineup this year and now ranks fourth in the all-around. She’ll be challenged by Ute Grace McCallum, who ranks outside the top 25 in the all-around due to a fall on vault in Week 1 but is capable of beating anybody on any day when she hits.

What We’re Watching: Make sure to dial into the last two rotations, as beam is the specialty event for both of these programs. Between the Utes, who are ranked No. 1 on the event, and the Sooners, who rank No. 2, they claim four of the top 10 individual spots on the beam rankings at the moment—Utah’s Maile O’Keefe and Kara Eaker share the top spot while Oklahoma’s Ava Siegfeldt and Bowers are tied at sixth.

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: Last season in Salt Lake City, the Utes defeated the Sooners 197.775 to 196.650.