Oklahoma basketball: Sooners back at No. 9 in AP Top 25
By Chip Rouse
The Oklahoma basketball team returned to the No. 9 spot this week in the Associated Press weekly rankings.
The Sooners (13-5, 8-4) had briefly fallen back three spots after a loss to then 13th-ranked Texas Tech, but vaulted right back into the top 10 with an impressive double-overtime win on Saturday at No. 14 West Virginia.
Oklahoma is No. 10 this week in the Coaches Poll.
In a rare twist of fate, the Mountaineers managed to benefit despite the loss, moving up one spot, to No. 13, in the AP poll.
Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor remained far ahead of the rest of college basketball in the same top- two spots the two college juggernauts have occupied since the start of the season.
The Big 12 continues to have six teams ranked in the AP Top 25, only this week Kansas is back in the rankings, replacing Oklahoma State as the nation’s No. 23 team.
The Cowboys lost twice this past week, one of which was to Kansas, and dropped just outside of the rankings. If the poll consisted of the top-26 teams, however, the Big 12 would be represented by seven of the 10 conference teams.
No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 12 Texas collide in Norman on Tuesday, marking the 10th time since Jan. 2 that the Sooners have gone up against a team ranked in the top 15.
This is just the fourth week Oklahoma has been ranked in college basketball’s top 25. The Sooners broke into the top 25 for the first time the week of Jan. 25 after defeating then-No. 9 Kansas. OU broke in at No. 24, and a week later jumped 13 spots to No. 9 after completing three consecutive wins over teams ranked in the top 10.
Depending on what happens the next couple of weeks with Oklahoma State, Tuesday’s game against Texas could be the last time the Sooners face a ranked opponent in the regular season.