Sooners on the rise in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
The Oklahoma Sooners responded from their first losing streak of the season to go 2-0 last week with wins over West Virginia and Cincinnati.
Oklahoma beat the Mountaineers by 14 at home to get back to their winning ways. In beating Cincinnati, the Sooners picked up their first Big 12 road win of the season and stayed one game out of first in the conference standings.
After a strong week, the Sooners moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
In a wild and frenetic Big 12 season, the Sooners are the third-highest-ranked team in the conference. The Houston Cougars moved up one spot to No. 4, while the Kansas Jayhawks dropped four spots to No. 8 in the nation.
The Baylor Bears also suffered a big drop, falling back five spots to No. 14. Iowa State is at No. 18, and BYU comes in at No. 19. The Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are currently in first place in conference play, rank No. 21 in the nation, moving up four spots in the most recent poll.
The top of the poll remained the same from last week, with UConn at No. 1, picking up 24 first place votes. Purdue sits at No. 2, and North Carolina, who the Sooners lost to in Charlotte, is at No. 3.
After rising into the poll last week with upset wins over top 10 teams Houston and Oklahoma, TCU dropped out of the top 25 this week after losses to Iowa State and Cincinnati.
The Sooners have a pair of big-time matchups coming up this week at home against Red River rival Texas and a top-25 showdown with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
1 | UConn | 17-2 | 791 (24) | – |
2 | Purdue | 17-2 | 769 (8) | – |
3 | 15-3 | 734 | – | |
4 | Houston | 16-2 | 678 | +1 |
5 | 14-4 | 671 | +2 | |
6 | Kentucky | 14-3 | 609 | +4 |
6 | 16-2 | 609 | +5 | |
8 | Kansas | 15-3 | 576 | -4 |
9 | Arizona | 14-4 | 528 | +4 |
10 | 14-4 | 480 | -2 | |
11 | Illinois | 14-4 | 437 | +3 |
12 | 13-4 | 421 | -6 | |
13 | 15-3 | 401 | +3 | |
14 | Baylor | 14-4 | 362 | -5 |
15 | Marquette | 13-5 | 360 | +3 |
16 | Creighton | 14-5 | 299 | -1 |
17 | Dayton | 15-2 | 277 | +6 |
18 | Iowa State | 14-4 | 220 | +2 |
19 | BYU | 14-4 | 181 | – |
20 | Utah State | 17-2 | 176 | -3 |
21 | Texas Tech | 15-3 | 148 | +4 |
22 | Memphis | 15-4 | 130 | -10 |
23 | Colorado State | 15-3 | 119 | +3 |
24 | Florida Atlantic | 15-4 | 101 | +3 |
25 | New Mexico | 16-3 | 54 | +20 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 21 Ole Miss; No. 22 TCU; No. 24 San Diego State
Others Receiving Votes
San Diego State 43; Alabama 43; Seton Hall 33; Gonzaga 30; TCU 26; Texas 18; Clemson 15; Kansas State 14; Princeton 13; Utah 10; Saint Mary’s 6; Boise State 5; Indiana State 4; Grand Canyon 4; Ole Miss 2; James Madison 2; Michigan State 1
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