Oklahoma basketball: Sooners drop like a rock in national rankings

What was expected for the Oklahoma basketball men came to harsh reality on Monday.

The Sooners, who a week ago were knocking on the door of the top 10 in the Associated Press national rankings are now on the verge of dropping out of the top 25 after a week that saw the OU men lose consecutive games at home at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma was the biggest mover in this week's AP Top 25, tumbling backwards 12 spots to No. 23. The Sooners are No. 24 this week in the Coaches Poll.

OU lost by 15 to archrival Texas early in the week, and on Saturday No. 20 Texas Tech eked out a one-point win over the Sooners. The Sooners led both games at halftime but collapsed defensively in the second half. The loss on Saturday to Texas Tech was even more disappointing because OU led by nine points with seven minutes remaining and couldn't close it out.

The Sooners must now go on the road and try to right the ship in a conference in which it is extremely difficult to win on the road. OU is at Kansas State on Tuesday and heads to Central Florida on Saturday. The Sooner men have always had trouble winning at Kansas State, and UCF already has a home win over Kansas this season and a road win at Texas. A loss to either of those teams in the coming week will almost certainly cost Oklahoma its top-25 ranking.

The Big 12 added a team to the top 25 this week, with TCU occupying the No, 25 spot in both major weekly polls. Houston remains the highest ranked Big 12 team. The Cougars are No. 4 in both the AP and the Coaches Poll. Kansas is No. 8 in the AP and one spot lower in the Coaches Poll.

Iowa State and OU virtually traded places. Iowa State moved up 11 spots to No. 12 in the AP Top 25 and is ranked No. 12 in the Coaches Poll.

The top five remain the same in both major polls this week: 1. UConn, 2. Purdue, 3. North Carolina, 4. Houston and 5. Tennessee. Texas Tech is No, 15 in both polls, Baylor No. 18 and BYU 21 in the Coaches Poll and No, 22 in the AP Top 25.