Texas Tech Red Raiders – Page 2

Sooners suffer big drop in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after losses to Texas, Texas Tech

The Oklahoma Sooners suffered a sharp drop in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after their losses to Texas and Texas Tech.

The Oklahoma Sooners are a work in progress in Porter Moser’s third season at the helm. They’ve looked better at times, and they are in a position to make the NCAA tournament, but they have had a rough go of it lately.

Last week, they were blown out at home by Texas and then let a late lead slip away against Texas Tech. As a result, the Sooners dropped 11 spots to No. 24 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Sooners sit right in front of league mate TCU, a team they lost to in Fort Worth a few weeks back.

There’s a lot to like about what Oklahoma is doing, but they’ve been inconsistent in recent weeks. Against Texas Tech, their inefficiency from the free throw line came back to bite them in a one-point loss.

The top five in the poll remained the same as last week, with UConn leading the way, garnering 23 out of a possible 31 first-place votes. Purdue is second in the nation, followed by UNC, Houston, and Tennessee.

The Sooners have another tough Big 12 matchup on Tuesday night when they travel to Manhattan to face the Kansas State Wildcats (14-6, 4-3 Big 12). Then, on Saturday, they’ll take on UCF in Orlando.

If the Sooners can split the road trip or even go 2-0, it will provide a big boost to their NCAA tournament resume.

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

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	UConn	18-2	766 (23)	–
2	Purdue	19-2	746 (8)	–
3	North Carolina	17-3	710	–
4	Houston	18-2	680	–
5	Tennessee	15-4	658	–
6	Wisconsin	16-4	593	+4
6	Duke	15-4	512	+5
8	Kentucky	15-4	510	-2
9	Kansas	16-4	503	-1
10	Marquette	15-5	454	+5
11	Iowa State	16-4	408	+7
12	Arizona	15-5	405	-3
13	Creighton	16-5	367	+3
14	Illinois	15-5	359	-3
15	Texas Tech	16-3	340	+6
16	Auburn	16-4	331	-10
17	Utah State	18-2	258	+3
18	Baylor	14-5	188	-4
19	Dayton	16-3	166	-2
20	New Mexico	18-3	162	+5
21	BYU	15-5	153	-2
22	Alabama	14-6	147	+4
23	Florida Atlantic	17-4	122	+1
24	Oklahoma	15-5	106	-11
25	TCU	15-5	99	+5

Schools Dropped Out

No. 22 Memphis; No. 23 Colorado State;

Others Receiving Votes

San Diego State 67; Ole Miss 57; South Carolina 46; Gonzaga 38; Memphis 26; Northwestern 23; Colorado State 14; Indiana State 13; Texas 11; Grand Canyon 9; Saint Mary’s 5; Virginia 4; McNeese State 4; App State 4; Seton Hall 2; Cornell 2; Princeton 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.

Vikings 2024 NFL draft scouting report: Washington WR Ja’Lynn Polk

Washington Huskies WR Ja’Lynn Polk has been overlooked with Rome Odunze on the same team. How does he look as an NFL Draft prspect?

Welcome to SKOL Search!

This series will be your guide to the 2024 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.

The focus of the draft class in this space will be on the Vikings’ major needs at quarterback, running back, defensive line and edge rusher. We will also focus on wide receiver since it’s a loaded class and an increased chance to get a Stefon Diggs-type steal in the later rounds.

The Vikings are slated to have 9 picks going into the NFL draft and they need to make the most out of them.

10 players to watch on Reese’s Senior Bowl American team’s defense

From Missouri CB Kris Abrams-Draine to Texas DT T’Vondre Sweat, 10 players to watch on the Reese’s Senior Bowl American team’s defense

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is here and Mobile is going to be rocking with the 100+ NFL draft prospects coming into South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium.

Vikings Wire will have boots on the ground as managing editor Tyler Forness will be there in person to watch these players duke it out in front of scouts and analysts alike.

On the American team, the biggest names are on the offensive side of the ball, but this is a homage to the top names on the defensive side.

No. 11 Oklahoma loses hotly contested Big 12 class against No. 20 Texas Tech 85-84

Oklahoma’s free throw woes and inability to hold a lead haunt them as they lose a close game to Texas tech 85-84.

There are no days off for Big 12 basketball. Even the worst teams in the league will push any team to the brink. Saturday was just another day in the Big 12 as No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 20 Texas Tech played a barn burner of a game in Norman, Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, the effort wasn’t enough for the Sooners, as Texas Tech outlasted them 85-84.

Texas Tech started strong, racing out to a 17-9 lead in the first half, forcing Porter Moser to call a timeout to settle his troops. The Sooners responded with a 12-0 run with much better defense and more fluidity offensively. From that point to halftime, the teams went back and forth. The Sooners went into the half with a one-point lead at 34-33, a carbon copy of what happened earlier in the week when they hosted their Red River rivals, Texas.

Oklahoma had a 22-17 rebound advantage into the break, led by Rivaldo Soares’ seven rebounds, which accompanied nine first-half points. Foul trouble, a common theme for Oklahoma in the first half of this season, persisted, as Sam Godwin, [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], and Le’Tre Darthard all had two fouls.

The first 10 minutes saw both teams continue to trade blows. [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag], who, along with McCollum and Otega Oweh, shot a combined 3 for 16, came out from the locker room ready to ball. Uzan scored eight early points after the break, matching Texas Tech’s Chance McMillian’s eight. McMillian would have his best game as he posted 27 points.

With the game tied at 55, five straight points by Oweh, capped by a steal and dunk, helped spark a 13-4 Oklahoma run that had them up 68-59 with 7:30 left in the game. Texas Tech, led by McMillian, Pop Issacs, and West Virginia transfer Joe Toussiant, fought back to tie the game at 73 apiece.

Despite the Sooners fumbling the lead, they had their chance to tie the game and force overtime after Toussaint missed the second of two free throws with 17 seconds left to keep the score at 83-81. Uzan’s’ shot was too strong and clanged off the rim, allowing Isaacs to grab the board, hit free throws, and close the door on Oklahoma’s chances.

Texas Tech made more shots down the stretch and was significantly better at the free throw line, going 16 of 19 at the charity stripe to Olahoma’s 15 of 244 as Tech iced the game late.

Oklahoma was led in points by [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] off the bench, who had 19 points and a team-leading ten rebounds. Oweh, Uzan, and Godwin also finished in double figures scoring.

OU (15-5, 3-4) will take their show on the road to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Jerome Tang and his Kansas State Wildcats Tuesday night.

Texas Tech (16-3, 5-1) will go to Fort Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs.

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 Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Updated Big 12 Men’s Basketball Standings

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.

Sooners on the rise in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners moved up three spots in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners responded from their first losing streak of the season to go 2-0 last week with wins over West Virginia and Cincinnati.

Oklahoma beat the Mountaineers by 14 at home to get back to their winning ways. In beating Cincinnati, the Sooners picked up their first Big 12 road win of the season and stayed one game out of first in the conference standings.

After a strong week, the Sooners moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

In a wild and frenetic Big 12 season, the Sooners are the third-highest-ranked team in the conference. The Houston Cougars moved up one spot to No. 4, while the Kansas Jayhawks dropped four spots to No. 8 in the nation.

The Baylor Bears also suffered a big drop, falling back five spots to No. 14. Iowa State is at No. 18, and BYU comes in at No. 19. The Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are currently in first place in conference play, rank No. 21 in the nation, moving up four spots in the most recent poll.

The top of the poll remained the same from last week, with UConn at No. 1, picking up 24 first place votes. Purdue sits at No. 2, and North Carolina, who the Sooners lost to in Charlotte, is at No. 3.

After rising into the poll last week with upset wins over top 10 teams Houston and Oklahoma, TCU dropped out of the top 25 this week after losses to Iowa State and Cincinnati.

The Sooners have a pair of big-time matchups coming up this week at home against Red River rival Texas and a top-25 showdown with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

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

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	UConn	17-2	791 (24)	–
2	Purdue	17-2	769 (8)	–
3	North Carolina	15-3	734	–
4	Houston	16-2	678	+1
5	Tennessee	14-4	671	+2
6	Kentucky	14-3	609	+4
6	Auburn	16-2	609	+5
8	Kansas	15-3	576	-4
9	Arizona	14-4	528	+4
10	Wisconsin	14-4	480	-2
11	Illinois	14-4	437	+3
12	Duke	13-4	421	-6
13	Oklahoma	15-3	401	+3
14	Baylor	14-4	362	-5
15	Marquette	13-5	360	+3
16	Creighton	14-5	299	-1
17	Dayton	15-2	277	+6
18	Iowa State	14-4	220	+2
19	BYU	14-4	181	–
20	Utah State	17-2	176	-3
21	Texas Tech	15-3	148	+4
22	Memphis	15-4	130	-10
23	Colorado State	15-3	119	+3
24	Florida Atlantic	15-4	101	+3
25	New Mexico	16-3	54	+20

Schools Dropped Out

No. 21 Ole Miss; No. 22 TCU; No. 24 San Diego State

Others Receiving Votes

San Diego State 43; Alabama 43; Seton Hall 33; Gonzaga 30; TCU 26; Texas 18; Clemson 15; Kansas State 14; Princeton 13; Utah 10; Saint Mary’s 6; Boise State 5; Indiana State 4; Grand Canyon 4; Ole Miss 2; James Madison 2; Michigan State 1

Texas Tech, Kansas State lead Big 12 basketball standings

An updated look at the Big 12 standings as of Monday morning.

Week 11 is in the books for the 2023-24 college basketball season, and as expected the Big 12 is chockfull of talented teams.

The ranked teams in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll include the Kansas Jayhawks, Houston Cougars, Baylor Bears, Oklahoma Sooners, Iowa State Cyclones, BYU Cougars, and Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Texas Longhorns are making a case for the top 25 after knocking off then-ranked No. 9 Baylor thanks to Tyrese Hunter’s buzz-beater heroics.

The surprise might be Texas Tech and Kansas State who sit atop the conference standings with identical 4-1 records. Tech’s lone loss came against Houston, while KSU fell to the Red Raiders in Lubbock recently. What isn’t a shock is seeing two teams led by former Scott Drew assistants achieving early success. Grant McCasland is in his first season with Texas Tech, while Jerome Tang is in Year 2. He led Kansas State to the Elite 8 last season.

Here are the full standings as of Monday morning:

Team	Conf Rec	Overall Rec
Texas Tech	4-1	15-3
Kansas State	4-1	14-4
Houston	3-2	16-2
Kansas	3-2	15-3
Oklahoma	3-2	15-3
Baylor	3-2	14-4
Iowa State	3-2	14-4
BYU	2-3	14-4
TCU	2-3	14-4
Texas	2-3	13-5
Cincinnati	2-3	13-5
UCF	2-3	11-6
West Virginia	2-3	7-11
Oklahoma State	0-5	8-11

West Virginia picked up their second win in Big 12 play of the season when they upset the Kansas Jayhawks. The Mountaineers’ other win came against Texas, both games were played in Morgantown.

Here is a look at the scheduled games on Jan. 22 through Jan. 24:

Date	Away	Home
Jan. 22	Cincinnati	Kansas
Jan. 23	West Virginia	Central Florida
Jan. 23	Texas	Oklahoma
Jan. 23	TCU	Oklahoma State
Jan. 23	Houston	BYU
Jan. 24	Kansas State	Iowa State

Texas Tech won’t play again until Saturday, Jan. 27 against Oklahoma in Norman. Baylor’s next game will also be on Saturday when they host TCU in Waco.

Oregon played in three of ESPN’s Top 100 games for 2023

Oregon appears three times in ESPN’s Top 100 games of the 2023 season and go 1-2 in those games, losing twice by a combined six points.

In 2023, we were all treated to a classic college football game nearly every single week and the Oregon Ducks had their fair share of classics this season.

Unfortunately, they didn’t come out on top in some of those.

ESPN put together its Top 100 games of the 2023 season and as expected, Oregon showed itself a few times. But so did the Huskies. It’s difficult to relive both losses to the heated rival to the North. However, Duck fans can take solace they won’t have to hear about Washington’s national title run thanks to Michigan.

Oregon shows up at No. 48 for its Sept. 9 game at Texas Tech where the Ducks get out of Lubbock with a 38-30 road victory.

Somehow, Texas Tech nearly overcame a minus-4 turnover differential to end Oregon’s CFP hopes in early September. Nearly. A 20-3 run gave Tech a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and after three lead changes and a go-ahead Camden Lewis field goal with 1:10 left, Jeffrey Bassa’s 45-yard pick-six finally sealed a wild Ducks win in West Texas. — Bill Connelly

As expected, the two and only losses of the 2023 campaign show up at Nos. 9 and 8 with the true loss in Seattle coming ahead of the Pac-12 title game in Las Vegas. Oregon lost both games by a field goal, which shows how close it was to being in the playoff itself. If the ball bounces a different way a couple of times or if the Ducks kick a field goal here or there instead of being ultra-aggressive, this season might look vastly different. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

Here’s in part what ESPN had to say about those two games that added even more lore to a rivalry that will now go into the Big Ten Conference.

Dan Lanning fielded a brilliant Oregon team in 2023, one that went 12-0, with wins by an average score of 46-13, against teams not named Washington. But the Ducks played two tossups against the playoff-bound Huskies and came up with tails both times. — Connelly

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Pair of Big 12 clashes are must-see TV on Saturday

These are the best games to check out in the Big 12 on Saturday.

The Big 12 is one of the deepest basketball conferences in the country with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.

It certainly makes for some interesting basketball in conference play. You can add that Texas, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech are all worthy of being ranked as well. Welcome to the murderer’s row of basketball.

With the college football season finished, eyes are coming back to the hardwood just in time for the run to March. On Saturday, there are plenty of games in the Big 12 to keep an eye on but here are the best ones.

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks

NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks are both coming off disappointing losses for different reasons. The TCU Horned Frogs were able to take down OU thanks to the Sooners’ inability to score consistently in an 80-71 loss. Oklahoma trailed 78-61 with under two minutes to go but only managed a 10-2 run to cut the lead to nine before the final buzzer. On the other hand, Kansas built a nice first half lead at 35-19 with under four minutes to go. The Knights outscored the Jayhawks 46-25 over the next 24 minutes of basketball.

Who will get off the snide and avoid back-to-back losses just three games into Big 12 play? Tune in for the game at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

No. 2 Houston Cougars at TCU Horned Frogs

The aforementioned TCU Horned Frogs will host the No. 2 team in the country in the early evening hours. The Houston Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season to a stingy Iowa State squad. The Cougars have averaged 75.3 points per game but were held to 22 points under that number by the Cyclones’ defense. They forced Houston to turn the ball over 16 times in that game. On the other side, you have a TCU squad that is coming off the upset victory of No. 3 Kansas, can they keep it going against No. 2 Houston? The plan should be the same as the Oklahoma matchup, keep your turnovers to a minimum while forcing the Cougs into making mistakes.

Does TCU get another huge win or does Houston rebound? Tune into that game at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Bonus Game: Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Tech Red Raiders

Olivia Raymond/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jerome Tang (Kansas State) and Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) were longtime assistants for Scott Drew at Baylor, now they are adversaries. On Saturday, Texas Tech looks to extend their longest winning streak in the conference to 9 games. They are 2-0 in conference play after knocking off Texas and Oklahoma State. Kansas State is also 2-0 after wins over UCF and West Virginia.

Which team stays unbeaten in Big 12 play? Tune in at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2

Sooners top 10 in latest editon of College Wire’s Power Rankings

Oklahoma is ranked 9th in College Wire’s latest power rankings.

Oklahoma is in deep preparation for another war of a basketball game as they ready themselves for their first actual road game. They’ll take on a tough TCU Horned Frogs team coached by Jamie Dixon.

Over the weekend, Porter Moser’s squad opened up Big 12 play with a gritty win against an experienced and talented Iowa State team. The Sooners led the way thru the first 35 minutes of game time. After Iowa State took a late lead, a 7-0 run late pushed Oklahoma over the hump.

As the Sooners prepare for two Big 12 games this week, they’ll be ranked as one of the best teams in the country. Our colleagues at College Wire agree and has the Sooners at No. 9 in their most recent power rankings.

Ahead of Oklahoma at number one sits the Purdue Boilermakers, led by Zach Edey. New Big 12 member Houston is the number two team, but dropped their first game of the season Tuesday night. Behind them are the Kansas Jayhawks, long-time standard bearers of Big 12 hoops. The Sooners travel to Allen Fieldhouse for a Saturday afternoon tilt.

UConn and Arizona slot in at four and five. The only two SEC teams in the top 10 of these power rankings are Tennessee and Kentucky, who come in at six and seven, while the lone ACC representative, UNC, comes in at eight. Behind Oklahoma sits Scott Drew and his Baylor Bears tenth.

In the rest of the power rankings, BYU (18), Texas Tech (23), and Cincinnati (24) round out the rest of the Big 12 representation in the rankings.

Oklahoma faces three of the five Big 12 teams in this week’s power rankings in their next six games. The Sooners have some significant opportunities to add even more impressive wins to an already appealing tournament resume. It starts on Tuesday with a win in Fort Worth.

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 Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.