2023-2024 Oklahoma Men’s Basketball

Sooners fall out of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After a tough couple of weeks, the Oklahoma Sooners have fallen out of the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’re 1-3 in their last four and 3-5 in their last eight games.

Their most recent loss was an 11-point loss to UCF.

Winning on the road in the Big 12 has been tough, but the Sooners have also struggled to hold serve on their home floor. They’re still in good position to make the NCAA tournament at this point, but they need to right this ship this week as they get set to take on BYU and Oklahoma State. Another 0-2 week this week and their tournament lives could be on life support. Because after that, they’ll take on top 15 teams Baylor and Kansas.

With their loss to UCF, the Sooners fell out of the top 25 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. As did TCU. Five Big 12 teams remain with Kansas at No. 4, Houston at No. 5, Baylor at No. 13, BYU at No. 19, and Texas Tech at No. 23.

The top three remain the same from a week ago with UConn picking up 25 first place votes and Purdue coming in at No. 2 with seven first-place votes. North Carolina, who beat the Sooners in nonconference play, sits at No. 3 with their 18-4 record.

Each week in the Big 12 is an opportunity to make a statement. The most important one the Sooners can make is one of consistent from game-to-game.

The Sooners are an improved team from a year ago, but it’s clear they’re not a finished product. They have the talent to hang with some really good teams, but they aren’t consistent enough on the offensive end of the floor to hang for a full 40 minutes. But all is not lost. All it takes is getting hot at the right time. And Porter Moser’s shown in the past that he has what it takes to help his team succeed in a tournament atmosphere.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	UConn	20-2	793 (25)	–
2	Purdue	21-2	775 (7)	–
3	North Carolina	18-4	710	–
4	Kansas	18-4	683	+5
5	Houston	19-3	662	-1
6	Tennessee	16-5	647	-1
7	Marquette	17-5	573	+3
8	Arizona	17-5	525	+4
9	Wisconsin	16-6	505	-3
10	Duke	16-5	469	-3
11	Auburn	18-4	450	+5
12	Illinois	17-5	430	+2
13	Baylor	16-5	394	+5
14	Iowa State	16-5	387	-3
15	Kentucky	15-6	297	-7
16	Alabama	16-6	285	+6
17	Dayton	18-3	265	+2
18	Creighton	16-6	261	-5
19	BYU	16-5	234	+2
20	South Carolina	19-3	221	+8
21	Utah State	19-3	167	-4
22	Florida Atlantic	18-4	161	+1
23	Texas Tech	16-5	133	-8
24	San Diego State	17-5	68	+2
25	New Mexico	18-4	60	-5

Schools Dropped Out

No. 24 Oklahoma; No. 25 TCU

Others Receiving Votes

Saint Mary’s 57; Indiana State 45; TCU 36; Colorado State 32; Virginia 17; Oklahoma 12; Grand Canyon 12; Northwestern 8; Boise State 7; Gonzaga 6; Texas 5; Michigan State 4; Ole Miss 2; App State 2

How to watch, key players for Oklahoma Women’s Basketball vs. No. 10 Texas Longhorns

The Sooners women’s team is also set to take on the Texas Longhorns. Here is how you can watch their upcoming game.

After struggling to end nonconference season, [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] has her Oklahoma Sooners squad rolling so far in [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play. The Sooners are currently 5-1 after beating the Houston Cougars.

Oklahoma continues its road stretch, heading to Austin, TX, to face the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns come into the game ranked in the top 10 and sitting at 18-2 (5-2). The Sooners have lost three straight games against ranked opponents.

Can they knock off a ranked team and really start opening some eyes to being a legit threat in the conference? Let’s take a look at how you can watch and find out.

How to watch, key players for No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

Here is how you can watch Oklahoma’s next game against the Texas Longhorns.

The Oklahoma Sooners were able to do something that doesn’t happen too often, go on the road and win a conference game. Big 12 teams are 10-26 on the road in conference play, highlighting just how important the win over the Bearcats last week was.

Now Oklahoma is back above .500 in Big 12 play ahead of a big-time matchup in Norman.

They have to keep that momentum going and hold serve at home. Next, they play host to a Texas Longhorns team that came into the season with a ton of expectations but has struggled early on in Big 12 play. They sit at 2-3 in the conference with both wins coming in the final seconds. Most recently, the knocked off a top-10 Baylor Bears team at home.

But this is a rivalry game, and anything can happen in a game like this. So, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players.

Porter Moser praises Otega Oweh for finding ways to affect the game after slow start

Otega Oweh’s shot hasn’t been falling in conference play but still he finds ways to impact the game.

One of the more pleasant surprises for this year’s Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team has been the growth of [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag]. Oweh went from playing 13 minutes per game and averaging just under five points a game a season ago to 26 minutes and 14 points per game this season.

In conference play, however, Oweh has struggled. He’s averaged 9.5 points per game. After shooting better than 60% from the field for much of the season, he’s shooting just 29% in Big 12 play. But these last three games, he’s finding ways to impact the game for the Sooners.

He’s one of their better defenders. He’s also averaging seven rebounds per game during that stretch. Oweh had 10 in their win over West Virginia to earn the double-double.

“He started out 0-8,” Porter Moser said of his sophomore forward. “Then he ended 5-16 so he was five for his last eight but he still had 10 rebounds and five steals. That’s not having your offense dictate your defense after starting out 0-8. I just told him to keep going up strong and get to that foul line. But you’ve got to keep defending. You’ve got to be a relentless defender.”

That’s the standard Moser seems to be trying to implement at Oklahoma. A lot of players nowadays get down when their offense isn’t flowing, and then their defense takes a hit. Moser is making sure that doesn’t happen now or going forward. Oweh’s performance is an example of the pride this team takes on the defensive end of the floor.

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