The Oklahoma women's basketball team's stint outside of the top 10 was brief.
The Sooners on Monday moved up six spots to No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Poll thanks to a pair of massive wins last week that halted OU's losing streak that caused its fall in the rankings the week before.
Oklahoma women climb to top 10 in AP Poll
OU was outside of the top 10 for the first time all season last week when it came in at No. 16 in the AP Poll after losing three in a row to ranked SEC opponents. Before the losing streak, the Sooners were sitting pretty at No. 5 after winning 13 straight.
The Sooners could have been buried even further with the gauntlet ahead, but instead, they turned the challenges into opportunities to rocket back up rankings and solidify their footing as a top-4 seed to host in the NCAA Tournament. Last week started with the Sooners taking down then-No. 2 South Carolina 94-82 in overtime at Lloyd Noble Center. OU then survived Auburn 72-65 on the road Sunday.
Even more opportunities are ahead for the Sooners with 10 SEC teams in the latest AP Poll and the conference making up half of the top 10. South Carolina is still the highest-ranked SEC team after dropping just one spot to No. 3 between its loss to OU and thumping No. 5 Vanderbilt 103-74 on Sunday.
Other ranked SEC teams included No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 23 Georgia and No. 24 Alabama.
Next, the Sooners will host Texas A&M on Thursday night before a massive Red River Rivalry against the No. 4 Longhorns at 2 p.m. Sunday in Austin. The game will be on ABC and the women's basketball edition of ESPN's College GameDay will have its first show of the season ahead of the Red River Rivalry.
After a dramatic fall from the top 5, the Sooners' rise back to the top could happen just as quickly.