After a steady rise in national rankings throughout last year, the Oklahoma women's basketball team this season can't catch any traction to stop its downhill tumble.
The Sooners on Monday dropped outside of the top 15 for the first time this season to No. 16 in the latest Associated Press Women's Basketball Poll. OU was just inside the top 5 at No. 5 only two weeks ago before a three-game losing streak in SEC play sent the Sooners plummeting in national rankings and conference standings.
Sooners drop from top 15 in AP Top 25 after loss to LSU
OU was just handled by No. 6 LSU 91-72 on Sunday in Norman after suffering a pair of ranked SEC losses the week before to Kentucky and Ole Miss to put the Sooners on their first losing streak of the season. OU never lost more than two games in a row last season before making the Sweet 16.
Before the recent rare skid, OU was riding a 13-game winning streak and hadn't lost since the second game of the season to then-No. 3 UCLA.
The early losing streak also has the Sooners in the bottom half of SEC standings with expectations to be among the conference's best. OU is the only ranked team in the bottom eight of the conference standings, with the entire top half made up of nationally ranked squads.
The SEC had nine teams in the latest AP Top 25, including three of the top 5 with No. 2 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Vanderbilt. Other ranked SEC teams included No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 17 Tennessee, No. 18 Ole Miss and No. 23 Alabama.
Week 11 AP Top 25 Rankings 🏀 #NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/jdyK2loDdr
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) January 19, 2026
That creates a gauntlet ahead for the Sooners as they try to get back on track. However, if OU wants to end its losing streak, it'll take overcoming its toughest challenge yet with No. 2 South Carolina next at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday at Lloyd Noble Center.
If the Sooners extend their losing streak to four games on Thursday, they will at least have a chance to breathe after that with back-to-back unranked opponents before traveling to No. 4 Texas for the Red River Rivalry.