Oklahoma has been knocking on the door of the USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll for some time.
The Sooners are still just on the outside looking in of the latest edition with 29 points in the receiving votes section. If ranked all the way out, that would place Oklahoma No. 28 nationally.
OU resided in the receiving votes category every week throughout the month of December. This week’s 29 points represent Oklahoma’s season-high tally. Previously, the Sooners’ best total came in the Dec. 20 Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll when OU received 21 points.
A chance to impress exists for Oklahoma this week. The Sooners travel to Waco to take on defending national champion and No. 1 Baylor on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before playing host to No. 11 Iowa State on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside the Lloyd Noble Center.
After Baylor at No. 1, the rest of the top five looks like this: No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 5 UCLA.
Kansas checks in at No. 6 and is followed by No. 7 Arizona, No. 8 USC, No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Michigan State.
Texas at No. 16 and Texas Tech at No. 25 are the other two Big 12 schools that are ranked in the Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
As is expected in the rugged Big 12, the month of January is littered with challenging games for the Sooners.
Following this week, OU has a trip to No. 16 Texas, home dates with No. 6 Kansas and No. 1 Baylor and a road trip to West Virginia who join the Sooners in the receiving votes section.
Here’s a look at the full Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, powered by USA TODAY Sports.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Baylor (32) | 13-0 | 800 | – |
| 2 | Duke | 11-1 | 760 | – |
| 3 | Purdue | 12-1 | 713 | – |
| 4 | Gonzaga | 11-2 | 693 | – |
| 5 | UCLA | 8-1 | 657 | – |
| 6 | Kansas | 11-1 | 654 | – |
| 7 | Arizona | 11-1 | 559 | – |
| 8 | USC | 12-0 | 517 | +1 |
| 9 | Auburn | 12-1 | 512 | +2 |
| 10 | Michigan State | 12-2 | 507 | – |
| 11 | Iowa State | 12-1 | 450 | -3 |
| 12 | Ohio St | 9-2 | 412 | – |
| 13 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 344 | +4 |
| 14 | Houston | 12-2 | 328 | – |
| 15 | Villanova | 9-4 | 286 | +7 |
| 16 | Texas | 11-2 | 285 | +2 |
| 17 | Providence | 13-1 | 284 | +4 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 253 | -3 |
| 19 | Colorado St | 10-0 | 229 | +1 |
| 20 | Alabama | 10-3 | 223 | -1 |
| 21 | LSU | 12-1 | 208 | -5 |
| 22 | Seton Hall | 9-3 | 160 | -9 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | 156 | – |
| 24 | Xavier | 11-2 | 136 | – |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 10-2 | 110 | – |
Schools Dropped Out
None
Others Receiving Votes
Illinois 37; Connecticut 30; Oklahoma 29; Loyola-Chicago 16; Arkansas 15; Minnesota 14; San Francisco 6; Brigham Young 5; Saint Mary’s 4; Florida 4; West Virginia 2; Florida State 1; Davidson 1
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