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Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners Stay No. 1 in New Associated Press Poll

By Chip Rouse

Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) dunks against the LSU Tigers during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) dunks against the LSU Tigers during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was a very good week for Oklahoma basketball and for Sooner main man Buddy Hield.

For the third consecutive week, the Sooners sit atop the Associated Press Top-25 poll, receiving 45 of the 65 first-place votes cast by representative of the sports media. That is nine more first-place votes than the previous week.

North Carolina received the other 20 first-place votes in the AP poll and remained second behind Oklahoma.

The Tar Heels held on to the top rank, however, in this week’s USA Today Coaches Poll. The Sooners remain in the second spot again this week, receiving nine first-place votes from the panel of college coaches who cast ballots in the weekly poll.

The Sooners sit at No. 2 again this week in the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI) behind No. 1 North Carolina.

Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) drives past LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) during the second half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Oklahoma defeated LSU 77-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) drives past LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) during the second half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Oklahoma defeated LSU 77-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Oklahoma followed a 24-point win over Texas Tech last Tuesday with a thrilling come-from-behind two-point victory on the road over a fired-up LSU squad on Saturday. The Sooners led for just two minutes and 57 seconds the entire game against LSU, fighting back from a 14-point second-half deficit led by the deadeye long-range shooting of reigning Big 12 Player of the Year Hield.

Hield, who is No. 2 in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (52 percent, right behind teammate Jordan Woodard) made 8 of 15 from behind the three-point arc at LSU, seven of which came in the second half. Hield had 30-plus points in both games last week, the seventh and eighth time this season he has exceeded the 30-point level.

In OU’s two wins last week, Hield averaged 31 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 36 minutes of playing time. For that, he was named Big 12 Player of the Week, the fourth time this season he has received that honor.

In OU’s past two games, the Big 12’s leading scorer shot 59 percent from the field (20 of 34), 57 percent from three-point range (13 of 23) and 90 percent from the free-throw line (9 of 10).

Through the Sooners 20 games this season, Hield is averaging over four treys per game. That is No. 1 in the nation.

After losing at Iowa State early last week, Kansas dropped from 4th to 7th in the AP poll. Iowa State moved up one spot, to 13th, despite losing to Texas A&M in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. West Virginia fell to 14th from No. 9 the week before after losing badly to Florida on Saturday, and Baylor is No. 17. Texas, one of seven Big 12 teams to win their Big 12-SEC Basketball Challenge game on Saturday, also received votes.

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