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Oklahoma basketball: Sooners picked to finish 7th in Big 12 Preseason Poll

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma's Tanner Groves (35) puts up a shot beside St. Bonaventure's Jalen Adaway (33) during a men's college basketball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and St. Bonaventure at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday, March 20, 2022.Ou Nit
Oklahoma's Tanner Groves (35) puts up a shot beside St. Bonaventure's Jalen Adaway (33) during a men's college basketball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and St. Bonaventure at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Sunday, March 20, 2022.Ou Nit /
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The Oklahoma men’s basketball team is picked to finish seventh in the 2022-23 Big 12 Preseason Basketball Poll.

The Sooners also were picked seventh in last year’s preseason poll by the Big 12 head coaches. Oklahoma finished last season in eighth place with a 7-11 record in the conference and 19-16 overall.

Over the past 10 seasons, Oklahoma’s average preseason poll position has been 6.6.

For the second time in the past three seasons, Baylor is the preseason favorite to win the Big 12, a slight favorite over Kansas, the reigning Big 12 champions and NCAA champions. Kansas was the preseason No. 1 pick a year ago. Ironically, the last two Big 12 preseason favorites — Baylor in 2020-21 and Kansas in 2021-22 — not only went on to finish first in the conference in the regular season, but also went on the win the national championship.

Baylor received five first-place votes, Kansas four first-place votes and Texas received the remaining first-place vote.

Baylor totaled 77 points in this season’s preseason poll by the league coaches, Kansas had 73 points, followed by Texas (64), TCU (58), Oklahoma State and Texas Tech tied for fifth (42), Oklahoma (32), Iowa State (30), West Virginia (20) and Kansas State (12).

Only two starters return from last season’s Oklahoma squad. Super senior center/forward Tanner Groves is the Sooners’ leading returning scorer, having averaged 11.6 points last season. Senior forward Jalen Hill is the other returning starter. Hill averaged 9.1 points and started all 35 OU games a year ago.

OU head coach Porter Moser welcomes eight new roster additions this season, which includes four freshmen newcomers and four transfers.

Oklahoma will play Oklahoma City in an exhibition game on Oct. 25 and open the season hosting Sam Houston at Lloyd Noble Center on Nov. 7.

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