Tag: Oklahoma Basketball

Oklahoma moves up two more spots to No. 10 in Ferris Motors Coaches Poll

Oklahoma climbs up two more spots to No. 10 in the latest Ferris Motors Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Oklahoma picked up one of their best wins of the season on Saturday by going into Morgantown and knocking off West Virginia 91-90 in a double overtime thriller. After having some time off with their game against Baylor postponed, the Sooners took advantage of their only game of the week.

The win was good enough to keep Oklahoma climbing in the latest edition of the Ferris Motors Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports up to No. 10. They moved past Texas Tech and Missouri to get themselves back into the top-10.

Remaining at No. 1 is Gonzaga with Baylor behind them at No. 2. The Big Ten occupies the rest of the top-5 with Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois rounding things out. Texas Tech at No. 11, Texas at No. 13, West Virginia at No. 15, Oklahoma State at No. 22 and Kansas at No. 24 brings up Big 12 up to a whopping seven total teams ranked in this week’s poll.

Full Ferris Motors Coaches Poll:

1 Gonzaga 20-0
2 Baylor 17-0
3 Michigan 14-1
4 Ohio State 17-4
5 Illinois 14-5
6 Houston 17-2
7 Villanova 13-3
8 Virginia 15-3
9 Alabama 17-5
10 Oklahoma 13-5
11 Texas Tech 14-6
12 Creighton 16-5
13 Texas 13-5
14 Iowa 15-6
15 West Virginia 14-6
16 Florida State 11-3
17 Virginia Tech 14-4
18 USC 17-3
19 Missouri 13-5
20 Tennessee 14-5
21 Wisconsin 15-7
22 Oklahoma State 13-6
23 Loyola Chicago 18-4
24 Kansas 15-7
25 Oregon 12-4

Schools dropped out:

No. 24 UCLA; No. 25 Purdue

Others receiving votes:

San Diego St. 45; Louisville 41; Arkansas 32; Rutgers 28; Belmont 28; Purdue 23; Drake 19; Clemson 16; Florida 15; UCLA 13; Colorado 13; Louisiana State 12; Utah St. 7; Seton Hall 5; Winthrop 4; Colorado St. 3; St. John’s 2; Saint Louis 2; Boise St. 2; Xavier 1

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Sooner News: Former Oklahoma quarterback joins Tennessee, big day in Morgantown

The top stories from around Oklahoma. Former quarterback Joey Halzle is following another former quarterback in Josh Heupel to Knoxville.

Plenty of top news around the collegiate sports worlding involving for Oklahoma Sooners. Continue reading “Sooner News: Former Oklahoma quarterback joins Tennessee, big day in Morgantown”

Postgame news and quotes from Oklahoma’s 91-90 double OT win over No. 14 West Virginia

Postgame news and quotes from Oklahoma’s 91-90 win over West Virginia in double overtime in Morgantown on Saturday.

Well, that one was fun. Continue reading “Postgame news and quotes from Oklahoma’s 91-90 double OT win over No. 14 West Virginia”

Oklahoma Sooners tabbed as No. 3 seed in NCAA bracket preview

Oklahoma among projected 3 seeds in NCAA 2021 March Madness bracket preview.

The NCAA selection committee revealed the top 16 seeds, through games of February 12,  during the Bracket Preview Show on Saturday on CBS.

If March Madness started today, Gonzaga would be the No.1 overall seed joined by Baylor, Michigan, and Ohio State as the other number one’s. Gonzaga was named the overall No.1 due to outstanding non-conference wins over West Virginia, Virginia, Iowa, and Kansas.

Currently, defending national champion and ACC leader Virginia leads the No.3 seed category, along with Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Last year’s basketball tournament was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the excitement level for this year’s March Madness has exceeded prior years.

Here is a look at the complete bracket:

The 2021 tournament will utilize a 68-team field and will start with the First Four Thursday, March 18. Bloomington and West Lafayette will join Indianapolis as hosts of first-round games (March 19-20). Second-round games will be Mar. 21-22 and the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will take place Mar. 27-30. The final Four will be played Apr. 3 and 5.

The Sooners took care of the No. 10 overall seed and No. 3 team in region three, West Virginia in double-overtime on Saturday.

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Instant Analysis: Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s double-overtime thriller

Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s incredible double overtime win over West Virginia in Morgantown.

The No. 12 Oklahoma Sooenrs returned to action for the first time in a week on Saturday as they took on No. 14 West Virginia in another tightly-contest battle in Morgantown.

It was one of the absolute games of the year in college basketball as the two fantastic Big 12 teams battled into double overtime that was anybody’s to win late. But, the Sooners found a way to make the plays they had to late to hang on and pull off the huge road win.

Austin Reaves was sensational going for 28 points including the game-winning shot in the final moments of the second overtime period. Umoja Gibson was also tremendous, scoring 21.

There is a lot to digest with this game, so here are three immediate takeaways from this huge Oklahoma win to improve them to 13-5 on the season.

Brady Manek cements place in Oklahoma history

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

What a career it has been for Brady Manek. It seems like forever ago that he was a young freshman playing alongside Trae Young, as he has become a staple of the Oklahoma basketball program over his career.

Manek receives a lot of criticism for his play at times, but his place as fan favorite is forever locked in with his legacy as a 3-pointer shooter really felt cemented on Saturday. He hit his 215th career triple to move into a tie for fifth all-time in program history.

Moving into the top-5 really shows just how consistently good Manek has been from deep over his years in Norman. He is a bit of a polarizing player, but this milestone is nothing to scoff at by any stretch. It’s a big deal to get to point at any program, let alone a successful one like Oklahoma.

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When, where, how to watch Oklahoma basketball take on West Virginia

Everything you need to know before Oklahoma faces West Virginia on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown.

No. 12 Oklahoma (12-5, 7-4) returns to action after a week off on Saturday as they hit the road to do battle with No. 14 West Virginia (14-5, 7-3) in Morgantown.

After seemingly playing against a top-15 opponent every other night, the Sooners have had more time off than they’ve known what to do with. After losing to Texas Tech in Lubbock last Monday night, they had four days off before hosting and defeating Iowa State. Now, they’ve had another six days free after their game with Baylor was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Bears.

While avoiding rust will be tricky, the time off allowed them a mental reset and time to get Alondes Williams more in the swing of things as he returns from his battle with COVID-19.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the two, after the Sooners knocked off the Mountaineers 75-71 in Norman on Jan. 2nd. Umoja Gibson was huge in that win, putting up 29 points.

West Virginia has been playing good basketball of late, winning games against Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech after dropping the Big 12/SEC Challenge game against Florida. The streak has moved it up to second place in the conference standings.

For this matchup of two of the best teams in the Big 12, here is everything you need to know:

WHEN:  Noon CT

WHERE:  Morgantown, West Virginia

HOW TO WATCH:  Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Mark Neely & Chris Spatola)

HOW TO LISTEN:  Sooner Sports Radio Network – KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App (Toby Rowland & Kevin Henry)

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Lon Kruger confirms Alondes Williams will return to action on Saturday against West Virginia

Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger confirmed on Thursday that junior guard Alondes Williams will return to action on Saturday vs West Virginia.

A key player of Oklahoma’s team will be making his return on Saturday. Head coach Lon Kruger confirmed on Thursday that junior guard Alondes Williams will be back in the rotation after missing the last three games after a bout with COVID-19.

A starter in all 14 games he’s played this season, Williams has solid per game averages at 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists. His explosiveness and energy often provide a spark that the Sooners will be very glad to have back.

As for how much of a role he will have against West Virginia this weekend, he will probably be somewhat eased back into the fold although Kruger said he has recovered well.

“He’s bounced back well,” Kruger said on Thursday. “Not physically behind. He’s got his bounce, he’s got his pop to his step. He’s not dragging around from the COVID at all. Cardio-wise, it’ll take him a little while to get back to where he was. But, he doesn’t have to play a lot of minutes. He’ll definitely be able to be ready on Saturday to give us some minutes in critical situations.”

Obviously Williams is an important player on the court, but his leadership is something that can also be underrated. He is one of the voices of the team that other guys respond to and will certainly provide some eagerness for his return.

“Super excited to get one of our leaders back in the locker room,” Elijah Harkless said Thursday. “He’s great energy, locker room just changes when he walks in, court changes just when he gets on the court. He’s a big part of the reason why we got on our run. I’m excited to have him back and the guys are excited to have him back and can’t wait to see what he does.”

Oklahoma will head to Morgantown to battle No. 14 West Virginia on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CT.

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Oklahoma a projected No. 3 seed in USA TODAY Sports Bracketology

Oklahoma is projected as a 3-seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology ahead of their trip to Morgantown on Saturday.

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The college basketball season is ramping up in a big way with the regular season starting to dwindle down to its final weeks. With that, projections as to what the NCAA Tournament field is going to look like hold more and more weight as the picture begins to take a more clear shape.

On Tuesday, the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology was released and it features Oklahoma as a 3-seed in the Midwest region matched up against 14-seed Texas State. Of course, the geographic regions don’t mean as much this season given the entire tournament will take place in the greater Indianapolis area.

The much more important aspect here is that the Sooners come in as a top-3 seed, which would be a big win if that were the case. Perhaps even bigger than that in the projection is the fact that the 1-seed in the region is Michigan, as opposed to mighty Gonzaga or Baylor, and the 2-seed is Alabama, who Oklahoma already defeated once this season without leading-scorer Austin Reaves.

If this winds up being the draw for the Sooners, it is pretty favorable all things considered. There is still a lot of basketball to go between now and the tournament, but with Oklahoma’s schedule lining up favorably the rest of the way, they should have a good chance to continue to improve their position.

The Sooners have the week off this week until Saturday when they travel to Morgantown to face No. 14 West Virginia.

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Big 12 basketball tournament to be played as scheduled

As it currently stands, the Big 12 Tournament is planning to go on as scheduled in Kansas City from March 10-13.

As it stands today, the annual Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City is proceeding to be played as scheduled, per CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. It is unclear at this time if fans will be allowed to attend the event.

A year ago, the conference tournament was canceled just as it was getting started due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year there has been loads of speculation all season long as to whether or not the league tournaments would be played or if teams would prefer to have the week off before entering the NCAA Tournament bubble the following week.

As it stands today, it appears conferences are intending to hold the events as they normally would. The next interesting step here will be to see if any teams elect to opt-out of these events to keep their players as healthy as possible before the NCAA Tournament. Some teams need to do well, or even win it for the automatic bid, to make it to the big dance. But, for the teams that are obviously going to be included, the motivation may not be nearly as strong to take the risk.

This will certainly be something to keep an eye on going forward over the next few weeks. The Big 12 Tournament is currently set to take place March 10-13 in Kansas City.

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Oklahoma drops three spots to No. 12 in AP Poll after dropping game last week

Oklahoma dropped three spots in the latest AP Poll to No. 12 after dropping a game to Texas Tech last week.

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Oklahoma’s red hot stretch came to an end last week as the Sooners had their five-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Texas Tech in Lubbock. They then followed that up with a bounce back win over Iowa State, although it was a bit more of a close call than many expected.

The 1-1 week has Oklahoma sitting at 12-5 on the season and down three spots in the latest AP Poll Top 25 at No. 12. Illinois, Texas Tech, Virginia, Missouri and Alabama all hopped over the Sooners after their loss to the Red Raiders, but they remained in front of Texas, Iowa and Tennessee.

Gonzaga and Baylor continue to have a vice grip on the No. 1 and No. 2 spots at the top. The Longhorns continued their tumble down to No. 13 with West Virginia directly behind them at No. 14. Kansas fell out of the rankings, but Oklahoma State hopped in at No. 23 to keep the Big 12 at six total ranked teams.

Full AP Poll Top 25:

1 Gonzaga 18-0
2 Baylor 17-0
3 Michigan 13-1
4 Ohio State 15-4
5 Villanova 12-2
6 Illinois 13-5
7 Texas Tech 14-5
8 Houston 16-2
9 Virginia 13-3
10 Missouri 13-3
11 Alabama 15-5
12 Oklahoma 12-5
13 Texas 11-5
14 West Virginia 13-5
15 Iowa 13-6
16 Tennessee 13-4
17 Florida State 10-3
18 Virginia Tech 14-4
19 Creighton 14-5
20 USC 15-3
21 Wisconsin 14-6
22 Loyola Chicago 17-3
23 Oklahoma State 12-5
24 Purdue 13-7
25 Rutgers 11-6

Schools dropped out:

No. 21 UCLA; No. 22 Florida; No. 23 Kansas; No. 25 Drake

Others receiving votes:

Colorado 41, San Diego State 38, Xavier 37, UCLA 35, Florida 29, Louisville 28, Belmont 25, Kansas 18, Drake 16, Minnesota 12, North Carolina 8, St. John’s 7, Toledo 6, Clemson 6, Arkansas 3, Boise State 3, Saint Louis 2, UAB 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1, BYU 1

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions.

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