The Big 12 has six teams in the top 25 this week, with the Oklahoma basketball team taking over the No. 24 spot in the Associated Press poll.
The Sooners break into the top 25 for the first time this season following their second win over a top-10 team this month.
It is the first time Oklahoma has been ranked in basketball since January 2019, when the Sooners were ranked 20th in the AP poll.
Five of the 13 games the Sooners have played this season have been against ranked teams, and four of those five games, including OU’s 75-68 win over No. 9 Kansas on Saturday, were against teams ranked in the top 10 in both major polls (AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll).
And it isn’t going to get any easier for the Crimson and Cream over the next week. OU plays at No. 5 Texas on Tuesday, at home against No. 9 Alabama on Saturday and at No. 10 Texas Tech next Monday.
In addition to the Sooner’s quality win over Kansas on Saturday they began the month with a 75-71 win over then-No. 9 West Virginia.
With the addition of Oklahoma to the top 25, the Big 12 is now tied with the Big Ten for the most ranked teams. The Big 12 leads all major conferences, however, with the number of teams ranked in the top 10 (3) and top five (2).
The Sooners are just outside of the top 25 this week in the Coaches Poll, one point back of No. 25 Oregon.
No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor received all 64 first-place points in this week’s AP poll, with the Zags capturing all but three of the first-place votes.