Oklahoma basketball: OU surprisingly falls 3 spots in AP poll
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma basketball was the big mover a week ago, but this week the Sooner dropped back three spots in the Associated Press Top 25.
The Sooners fell back to No. 12 in the AP poll, with Texas Tech, Virginia and Missouri getting big boosts this week. Oklahoma is also the No. 12 team in the Coaches Poll this week.
Oklahoma split its two games this past week, losing to Texas Tech, which moved up six spots and ahead of the Sooners, into to the No. 7 slot. Former Big 12 school Missouri defeated No. 10 Alabama and. like the Sooners a week ago when they knocked off the same Alabama team, earned the biggest jump of the week, checking in at No. 10 this week.
Here’s the rub, though, for Sooner fans. Alabama, which lost to Oklahoma, the week before, sits ahead of the Sooners, at No. 11.
Texas, which was at No. 6 in the AP poll a week ago, lost twice this past week, at home to No. 2 Baylor and at Oklahoma State, fell 7 positions, to No. 13, just ahead of West Virginia at No. 14.
Virginia, which was No. 14 a week ago, also moved ahead of Oklahoma this week, advancing five spots and replacing the Sooners at No. 9.
Oklahoma State split a pair of games last week, but with its 75-67 double-overtime win at home over Texas on Saturday, the Cowboys became the sixth Big 12 team in the top 25, breaking in at No. 23.
Oklahoma’s next two games are at No. 14 West Virginia on Saturday and back home next Tuesday to host No. 13 Texas. After the game with Texas next week, the Sooners will have played eight games against ranked teams since Jan. 2. Six of those games were against teams ranked in the top 10.