With three games remaining in the regular season, the Oklahoma Sooners are in position to capture their first regular season Big 12 title since 2008-2009. In the midst of a six-game winning streak, they look like a force to be reckoned with.
As the regular season draws to a close, Oklahoma is well-positioned to go on a run in the Big 12 tournament and could make some noise in the Women’s NCAA tournament.
In the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll, the Sooners move up one spot to No. 11 in the nation. They’re the highest-ranked Big 12 team at this point in the season, and it’s the highest they’ve been ranked all year.
South Carolina tops the poll, receiving 31 out of a possible 32 first-place votes. The defending national champions are undefeated and will be the prohibitive favorite to win it all in March.
Indiana, Stanford, LSU, and UCONN round out the top five.
Oklahoma is joined in the poll by Iowa State at No. 19 and Texas at No. 20, while Oklahoma State and Baylor were among the teams that received votes in the poll.
It’s that match-up with Texas that looms large for the Sooners. They’ll face off in the second leg of the Red River Showdown on Saturday, Feb. 25, in Norman. If they can get a win over a Longhorns team that beat them by 20 the last time they played, Oklahoma will be in the driver’s seat to win the Big 12 outright.
The Sooners will face Kansas State at home and then go on the road to Stillwater to close out the regular season.
A look at the full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | South Carolina | 27-0 | 799 (31) | NC |
| 2 | Indiana | 26-1 | 768 (1) | NC |
| 3 | Stanford | 26-3 | 726 | NC |
| 4 | LSU | 25-1 | 698 | NC |
| 5 | UCONN | 24-4 | 654 | +1 |
| 6 | Iowa | 22-5 | 635 | +1 |
| 7 | Utah | 24-3 | 589 | -2 |
| 8 | Maryland | 22-5 | 587 | NC |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 22-4 | 566 | NC |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 22-4 | 525 | NC |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 22-4 | 453 | +1 |
| 12 | Duke | 23-4 | 429 | -1 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 23-5 | 384 | +1 |
| 14 | Arizona | 21-6 | 360 | +4 |
| 15 | Villanova | 23-5 | 332 | NC |
| 16 | UCLA | 21-7 | 285 | NC |
| 17 | Michigan | 20-7 | 275 | -4 |
| 18 | Gonzaga | 25-3 | 261 | +1 |
| 19 | Iowa State | 17-7 | 204 | +1 |
| 20 | Texas | 21-7 | 177 | +2 |
| 21 | UNC | 19-8 | 168 | -4 |
| 22 | Colorado | 22-6 | 123 | -1 |
| 23 | USF | 24-5 | 120 | NC |
| 24 | FGCU | 26-3 | 60 | +1 |
| 25 | UNLV | 25-2 | 55 | -NC |
Schools Dropped Out:
No. 24 NC State
Others receiving votes:
NC State 46; Florida State 42; Illinois 27; Southern California 13; South Dakota State 6; Oregon 6; Middle Tennessee St. 6; Massachusetts 6; Mississippi 5; Oklahoma State 4; Baylor 3; Marquette 1; Louisville 1; Cleveland St. 1.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1368]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.