Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
After falling to Kansas, it’s time to accept that the Longhorns aren’t a viable contender for postseason success.
Texas basketball is not a legitimate contender heading into March. It’s time to embrace it. Continue reading “Texas basketball falters at Kansas, 86-67”
There’s no better resume building opportunity moving forward for Texas than Kansas on the road.
Another opportunity to move off the bubble will take place on Saturday. The Texas Longhorns (17-9) take on the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (20-6) in Allen Fieldhouse.
Like the Houston Cougars who Texas faced last Saturday, the Jayhawks are good at protecting their home floor. Kansas is 13-0 at home on the season compared to a 3-5 record on the road. That doesn’t make them any less vulnerable.
The Jayhawks have five losses in Big 12 conference play with an 8-5 record in such games. College basketball’s toughest conference has got the better of most teams. Kansas is no exception. Pulling an upset will still be a tall task for the Longhorns.
Texas enters the game with conference wins over No. 11 Baylor (19-7), Oklahoma (18-8) and TCU (18-8). Another top victory could solidify the team’s NCAA Tournament resume and take pressure off of its final four regular season games.
It’s not a must-win game for the Longhorns, but like Houston, Iowa State and BYU it’s an opportunity to earn a difficult win that they failed to earn in previous tries. Texas will face Kansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.
See you in Sioux Falls! Iowa women’s basketball will play Kansas next season inside the Sanford Pentagon on Nov. 20, 2024.
Several pieces of the puzzle for the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ 2024-25 women’s college basketball schedule have been trickling out over the past week.
As one of the nation’s biggest draws in women’s college basketball, it’s no surprise to see that venues and events are clamoring to welcome in Iowa early next season.
Just like this past season, Iowa will be taking part in another inaugural, early-season showcase event. The Hawkeyes were recently announced as part of the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic.
The four-team event will feature a doubleheader of games in New York City between Iowa and fellow traditional power programs Connecticut, Louisville and Tennessee. In its second game this season, Iowa faced then-No. 5 Virginia Tech in the inaugural Ally Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C.
Now, another piece of Iowa’s 2024-25 schedule has come to light.
JUST IN: No. 4 ranked @IowaWBB will play @KUWBball in a non-conference matchup on Nov. 20 during the 2024-25 season.
Tickets will be as low as $30 & go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 29 online only at https://t.co/VZ1aAlagVM.
Learn more: https://t.co/JuYt7NRZdk#SanfordSports pic.twitter.com/ZPGZysnX7U
— Sanford Sports Complex (@sanford_complex) February 16, 2024
The Hawkeyes will face the Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 20 from inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. In women’s college basketball, the Sanford Pentagon played host to South Dakota versus South Carolina State and then-No. 23 Creighton versus North Dakota State to open up the 2023-24 season in November.
It has also played host to women’s programs such as Drake, Wichita State, South Carolina, Gonzaga and Omaha.
In men’s college basketball, the Iowa Hawkeyes have played inside the Sanford Pentagon on three occasions. Iowa beat Colorado, 80-73, on Dec. 22, 2017, Iowa lost to then-No. 1 Gonzaga, 99-88, on Dec. 19, 2020 and Iowa beat Utah State, 94-75, on Dec. 18, 2021.
Fellow Power Five men’s basketball programs such as Wisconsin, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Washington, Baylor, Auburn and Oregon State have all played inside Sanford Pentagon.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public Feb. 29 at 10 a.m. CT and they can be purchased here.
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A look at some of the best photos from the Sooners loss to the Kansas Jayhawks.
Consistency has been an issue for the Oklahoma Sooners throughout Big 12 play. On the offensive end of the floor, they went cold in the second half of their loss to the Kansas Jayhawks.
It’s a team, that when they’re on, they can play with just about everyone in the Big 12. The trouble against Kansas is that they were missing two key bench pieces in Rivaldo Soares and John Hugley. And they struggled to get their shot to go in.
Losing a game to the No. 6 Jayhawks is by no means a statement about what kind of team the Sooners are. They can play better than they did in the second half. It’s simply a matter of playing at their best for a full 40 minutes.
They have a handful of games remaining to get healthy and get their game right before tournament time.
Oklahoma Sooners back into the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after beating BYU Cougars and Oklahoma State.
The Oklahoma Sooners went through a tough stretch, losing four of six, dropping them out of the top 25 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches and AP Polls.
But they’ve rebounded in a strong way, winning three of their last four, including a 20-point win over Kansas State and 16-point win over top-20 ranked BYU Cougars.
They’re coming off of a tough, gritty win over Oklahoma State and are now 18-6 on the season and looking like a shoe-in for the NCAA tournament.
After falling out of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, the Oklahoma Sooners jumped back in, moving all the way to No. 21 in the nation ahead of a tough stretch. Over the next five games, they’ll play No. 13 Baylor, No. 7 Kansas, Oklahoma State, No. 10 Iowa State, and No. 3 Houston. They’ll then close the season at home against Cincinnati and at Texas.
While it’s a tough slate, the strength of their schedule should be looked upon favorably by the tournament committee. If they can come away from their final seven games with a winning record, that’ll fortify their resume ahead of the Big 12 tournament and March Madness.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | UConn | 22-2 | 792 (24) | – |
| 2 | Purdue | 22-2 | 776 (8) | – |
| 3 | Houston | 21-3 | 722 | +2 |
| 4 | Marquette | 18-5 | 647 | +3 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 19-5 | 643 | -2 |
| 6 | Arizona | 19-5 | 642 | +2 |
| 7 | Kansas | 19-5 | 635 | -3 |
| 8 | Duke | 18-5 | 529 | +2 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 17-6 | 524 | -3 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 18-5 | 510 | +4 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 21-3 | 475 | +9 |
| 12 | Auburn | 19-5 | 421 | -1 |
| 13 | Baylor | 17-6 | 402 | – |
| 14 | Illinois | 17-6 | 356 | -2 |
| 15 | Alabama | 17-7 | 337 | +1 |
| 16 | Creighton | 17-7 | 242 | +2 |
| 17 | BYU | 17-6 | 202 | +2 |
| 18 | Dayton | 19-4 | 195 | -1 |
| 19 | St Mary’s | 20-6 | 185 | +7 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 16-7 | 136 | -5 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 16-8 | 117 | -12 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 18-6 | 117 | +10 |
| 23 | Virginia | 19-5 | 109 | +7 |
| 24 | Indiana State | 22-3 | 106 | +3 |
| 25 | Colorado State | 19-5 | 96 | +4 |
No. 21 Utah State; No. 22 Florida Atlantic; No. 23 Texas Tech; No. 24 San Diego State; No. 25 New Mexico
Utah State 94; Texas Tech 89; Florida Atlantic 63; Clemson 38; Gonzaga 35; San Diego State 34; Nevada 27; TCU 20; Washington State 18; Grand Canyon 13; Texas A&M 9; New Mexico 8; Florida 8; Northwestern 6; South Florida 5; Wake Forest 4; VCU 4; Michigan State 4; James Madison 3; Richmond 1; App State 1
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.
Updated Big 12 standings.
The Big 12 has been a gauntlet this season. Even the highest-ranked teams in the conference have had their struggles, especially when going on the road.
Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Baylor, the league’s four highest-ranked teams, have are a combined 12-8 this season. Houston is one of four teams in the conference without a road win.
It’s tough to win games in the best basketball conference in the country, especially on the road, where teams are a combined 10-25 this season.
Seven teams are currently within one game of first place in the conference and 13 of the 14 teams are within two games of first place in the Big 12. It’s going to be a wild six weeks in conference play and the Big 12 tournament is going to be must-see television.
Here’s a look at the latest Big 12 standings.
After losses to TCU and Kansas, the Oklahoma Sooners took a tumble in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
It was a tough week for the Oklahoma Sooners on the hardwood, dropping road games to the TCU Horned Frogs and Kansas Jayhawks.
They lost each game by an average of 10.5 points and weren’t all that competitive down the stretch.
Still, the Sooners have a good team. They just have to figure out some of their second-half road issues. But after their 0-2 week, the Sooners dropped seven spots to No. 16 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
At 13-3, each of the teams the Sooners have lost to are currently ranked inside the top 25. North Carolina, who beat Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, moved up four spots to No. 3 in the nation behind UConn at No. 1 and Purdue at No. 2. Kansas dropped one spot to No. 4 despite their win over Oklahoma after losing to UCF in Orlando earlier in the week.
TCU, who beat the Sooners on Wednesday and played Kansas to a two-point loss the Saturday before, moved into the top 25 to No. 22 in the nation in this week’s poll.
Houston, who entered last week as the last remaining unbeaten team, dropped three spots in the poll after losses to TCU and Iowa State this week. Baylor rose five spots to No. 9 in the nation.
The Sooners are one of eight Big 12 teams ranked in this week’s edition of the Coaches Poll. BYU is at No. 19, Iowa State entered the poll at No. 20, as did Texas Tech at No. 25.
The Oklahoma Sooners next take the floor Wednesday in Norman against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | UConn | 15-2 | 785 | +3 |
| 2 | Purdue | 15-2 | 762 | -1 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 13-3 | 717 | +4 |
| 4 | Kansas | 14-2 | 713 | -1 |
| 5 | Houston | 14-2 | 619 | -3 |
| 6 | Duke | 13-3 | 590 | +5 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 12-4 | 574 | -2 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 13-3 | 533 | +7 |
| 9 | Baylor | 14-2 | 523 | +5 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 12-3 | 514 | -4 |
| 11 | Auburn | 14-2 | 509 | +5 |
| 12 | Memphis | 15-2 | 489 | +1 |
| 13 | Arizona | 12-4 | 424 | -5 |
| 14 | Illinois | 12-4 | 319 | -4 |
| 15 | Creighton | 13-4 | 261 | +5 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 13-3 | 239 | -7 |
| 17 | Utah State | 16-1 | 238 | +6 |
| 18 | Marquette | 11-5 | 214 | -6 |
| 19 | BYU | 13-3 | 174 | -2 |
| 20 | Iowa State | 13-3 | 152 | +9 |
| 21 | Ole Miss | 15-1 | 151 | +2 |
| 22 | TCU | 13-3 | 150 | +12 |
| 23 | Dayton | 13-2 | 130 | +6 |
| 24 | San Diego State | 14-3 | 102 | -5 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 14-2 | 92 | +11 |
Colorado State (18th), Gonzaga (21st), Clemson (22nd), FAU (25th)
Colorado State (81), FAU (67), Alabama (60), Seton Hall (40), Clemson (39), Grand Canyon (34), Texas (20), Nevada (14), Gonzaga (11), Oregon (10), N.C. State (9), Villanova (9), James Madison (8), Princeton (7), St. John’s (6), Florida State (4), Wake Forest (2), Nebraska (2), Florida (2), New Mexico (1), Indiana State (1)
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The Oklahoma Sooners are back in the top 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after their win over Iowa State.
The Oklahoma Sooners bounced back from their first loss of the season and have now won three in a row, including Saturday’s win over Iowa State. The Sooners are now 13-1 and 1-0 in Big 12 play.
In the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll, the Sooners are back inside the top 10 teams in the nation, coming in at No. 9. It’s the second time this season Porter Moser’s crew has risen to the top 10.
Purdue remained in the No. 1 spot, but there’s a new team at No. 2, the Houston Cougars. The undefeated Cougars jumped Kansas after the Jayhawks struggled to put away TCU at home.
This week, the Sooners will play in Fort Worth against the Horned Frogs before a top 10 matchup on Saturday in Lawrence against the Jayhawks.
UConn comes in at No. 4, and Tennessee is the No. 5 team in the nation. Rounding out the top 10 are Kentucky at No. 6, North Carolina at No. 7, Arizona at No. 8, No. 9 Oklahoma, and No. 10 Illinois, who dropped two spots this week.
Oklahoma is one of five Big 12 schools ranked this week, including Baylor at No. 14 and BYU at No. 17.
The Texas Longhorns fell out of the top 25 after their 11-point loss in Austin to Texas Tech.
For Oklahoma, it’s been a breakout season for Porter Moser. They’ve been really good on both ends of the floor, coming up with timely buckets and timely stops.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Purdue | 14-1 | 788 | — |
| 2 | Houston | 14-0 | 762 | +1 |
| 3 | Kansas | 13-1 | 754 | -1 |
| 4 | UConn | 13-2 | 685 | — |
| 5 | Tennessee | 11-3 | 661 | — |
| 6 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 628 | — |
| 7 | North Carolina | 11-3 | 592 | +2 |
| 8 | Arizona | 12-3 | 556 | +2 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13-1 | 490 | +2 |
| 10 | Illinois | 11-3 | 455 | -2 |
| 11 | Duke | 11-3 | 446 | +2 |
| 12 | Marquette | 11-4 | 428 | -5 |
| 13 | Memphis | 13-2 | 410 | +2 |
| 14 | Baylor | 12-2 | 378 | +4 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 11-3 | 341 | +6 |
| 16 | Auburn | 12-2 | 301 | +8 |
| 17 | BYU | 12-2 | 251 | -5 |
| 18 | Colorado State | 13-2 | 221 | -4 |
| 19 | San Diego State | 13-2 | 198 | +6 |
| 20 | Creighton | 11-4 | 147 | +6 |
| 21 | Gonzaga | 11-4 | 146 | +4 |
| 22 | Clemson | 11-3 | 133 | -6 |
| 23 | Utah State | 14-1 | 77 | N/A |
| 24 | Ole Miss | 13-1 | 77 | -4 |
| 25 | Florida Atlantic | 11-4 | 58 | -8 |
James Madison (20th), Texas (22nd), Providence (23rd)
Texas (55), Nevada (45), Cincinnati (36), Iowa State (33), Dayton (33), James Madison (32), Grand Canyon (30), Miami-FL (24), TCU (23), Wake Forest (21), Texas Tech (18), Ohio State (12), Seton Hall (11), Alabama (9), St. John’s (8), Providence (7), Michigan State (7), Indiana State (5), South Carolina (3), Princeton (2), Villanova (1), Northwestern (1), New Mexico (1)
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The Oklahoma Sooners are on the rise in the latest AP Poll, moving into the top 10 after their 34-point win over Green Bay.
The Oklahoma Sooners are off to their best start in the Porter Moser era, sitting at 10-0 ahead of a big-time nonconference matchup with the UNC Tar Heels.
At 10-0, the Sooners are one of four remaining unbeaten teams in college basketball. After starting the season unranked, the Sooners have climbed into the top 10 for the first time under Moser. In the latest AP Top 25, the Oklahoma Sooners come in at No. 7 in the nation. Oklahoma also came in at No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Purdue is the new No. 1 team in the nation after knocking off the previous No. 1 Arizona 92-84.
The Oklahoma Sooners are the third highest-rated Big 12 team, coming in behind No. 2 Kansas and No. 3 Houston. The Sooners moved in front of Baylor, who lost by 24 points to Michigan State. BYU at No. 17 and Texas at No. 19 are the only other Big 12 teams ranked in this week’s edition of the AP Poll.
Oklahoma’s shown off incredible depth, with eight players averaging seven or more points per game and six players averaging four rebounds or more per game. After having to retool the roster once again this offseason, Moser has finally found the cast that he’s been looking for to push the Sooners into the NCAA tournament.
The Sooners have a huge opportunity this week when they take on the No. 11 UNC Tar Heels in the Jumpman Invitational. It would mark a statement win for the resurgent Sooners as they hope to end their NCAA tournament drought.
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After a big win over Arkansas, the Oklahoma Sooners earned a big jump in ESPN’s latest Bracketology.
The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a fantastic start on the hardwood in the 2023-2024 season. They’re 9-0 and have had some significant, resume-building wins as Oklahoma searches for their first NCAA tournament bid in the Porter Moser era.
They’ve made significant headway toward that goal through nonconference play. With Big 12 play looming, it was imperative for the Sooners to perform well in the nonconference slate, and they’ve done just that. Notable wins over Iowa, USC, Providence, and Arkansas have Moser and the Sooners on the right track with four games remaining before Big 12 play opens against Iowa State.
They’ll face a significant test when they go to Charlotte, North Carolina, to take on the No. 9 Tar Heels in the Jumpman Invitational. But they’ve put the work in this season and look like one of the better teams in the country this season.
Oklahoma’s recent wins over Providence and Arkansas gave them a big bump in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. That jump to No. 12 in the nation was followed by another significant bump in the latest bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Here’s where the Big 12 landed in Lunardi’s latest projections for the NCAA tournament.
