The Blue Devils crept up one spot to seventh in the newest rankings and, combined with North Carolina dropping four spots down to ninth, that means Duke is now the highest-ranked team in the conference.
The first-year guard’s emergence has been a big factor in the Blue Devils’ surge up national rankings. In his past 17 games, the former five-star recruit has scored 20 or more points seven times and recorded three double-doubles.
The Blue Devils also vaulted past Marquette and Kansas to move within the top seven in the coaches poll.
The two North Carolina rivals were shockingly the only ACC schools included. Virginia and Clemson both recently cracked the top 25, but both remained in the “Receiving Votes” category this week. The Cavaliers were the second-highest team left out.
Have recent struggles from North Carolina and Kansas been enough for Duke to close the gap in recent bracket projections?
USA TODAY Sports released an updated bracket projection on Friday, and the Blue Devils remained one of the site’s No. 4 seeds thus far.
The site’s latest Bracketology had Duke as the fourth-ranked team in the East region behind Connecticut, Iowa State, and Alabama.
The Blue Devils would play Appalachian State in the opening round with either Wisconsin or Grand Canyon waiting for them the following game, should they win.
Speaking of the Tar Heels, after three losses in their past five games, UNC is now down to a No. 3 seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports projection. North Carolina spent much of the season as one of the four top teams after a 17-3 start, but recent slip-ups have them down as the No. 3 spot in the Midwest.
Kansas also slipped down to a No. 4 seed, also located in the Midwest region, after its fifth loss of the calendar year on Monday.
The Blue Devils may not have capitalized yet in the eyes of some projections, but with a handful of tough matchups the rest of the way, Duke has every opportunity to vault upward over the next three weeks.
Oklahoma offered five-star athlete and projected tight end Kendre Harrison out of Reidsville, NC. Harrison is a five-star prospect from the 2026 class.
The tight end was a sore spot for the Sooners in 2023. Production never met expectations, and the Sooners offense received nothing from the room this past season.
Tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley was elevated to co-offensive coordinator. Because of that, the expectations of him as a recruiter have also elevated.
He has a much better assortment of talent to work with in 2024. Four-star tight end Davon Mitchell will be a big boost to the room, but the Sooners have their work cut out to rebuild the position to the caliber of OU standards from the past.
One attempt to do that has the Sooners offering one of North Carolina’s best players, if not the best player in the state. Kendre Harrison is a five-star athlete who projects as a tight end for the Sooners. He’s equally capable of playing defensive end at the Power Five level, but most teams see him as a tight end. He’s the number one prospect in North Carolina for the class of 2026, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in NC who doesn’t think he’s simply the best player in the state, regardless of class.
Harrison’s physicality oozes on film. Though he’s not necessarily a fluid route runner, he showcases the ability to be molded into a more refined product.
Every major school in the country has offered or shown interest in Harrison, and some have offered him as a basketball player. He could very well be a five-star basketball player when his high school career is over.
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.
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:
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
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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.
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While the Sooners didn’t play North Carolina a year ago in the Jumpman Invitational, their fans’ presence was felt.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are college basketball royalty. They have the third most wins all-time with 2,343. They also have the third most championships all-time with six, most recently in 2017.
The Tar Heels are also undefeated against the Oklahoma Sooners in the history of each program. The Sooners look to change that with a win on Wednesday.
But they are going to have to do that in front of one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports; the Tar Heel faithful. While this technically isn’t an away game, it’ll be played in Charlotte, NC as a part of the Jumpman Invitational.
The Sooners defeated the Florida Gators last year in the Jumpman Invitational and Porter Moser shared that even though North Carolina wasn’t their opponent, their fans were out in droves. “I was there last year and even in our Florida game, it was all baby blue,” Moser said. “We know they are a storied program so our guys are excited about the next one up.”
The Tar Heels come into that game just outside the top 10 whereas the Sooners are firmly cemented in the top 10 as of now. Ultimately, this will be a measuring stick game to see if this Oklahoma team is for real as a top 10 team or if they are not.
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The Oklahoma Sooners climbed into the top 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
In their 10-0 start, the Oklahoma Sooners have shown that they’re one of the best teams in the nation. They’ve picked up significant wins over Arkansas, Iowa, USC, and Providence along the way to create a nice resume for the NCAA tournament committee to consider ahead of conference play.
As one of four unbeaten teams in the 2023-2024 men’s basketball season, the Oklahoma Sooners have moved up four spots to No. 8 in the nation in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
They have a huge top 15 matchup incoming as they head to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte.
Purdue took over the top spot after being the previous No. 1 in the coaches poll, Arizona. The Boilermakers are followed by Kansas at No. 2 and Houston at No. 3. Arizona dropped three places to No. 4. UConn rounds out the top 5.
The Sooners represent the third-highest Big 12 team. Baylor at No. 10, BYU, at No. 15 and Texas at No. 23 round out the conference’s representation in the coaches poll.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
Auburn 60; Miami (FL) 41; Colorado 36; TCU 26; Michigan State 18; Ohio State 17; Grand Canyon 13; Iowa State 12; Utah 7; Texas A&M 7; South Carolina 5; New Mexico 4; Nebraska 4; Princeton 3; Nevada 3; San Diego State 2; Alabama 2; Indiana State 1; Dayton 1
The Oklahoma Sooners put on a show in their win over Green Bay, but Porter Moser believes they still have room to improve.
The Oklahoma Sooners are 10-0 and one of just four undefeated teams remaining in college basketball. After a pair of lackluster seasons to start the Porter Moser era, the Sooners are off to a blistering start in the 2023-2024 season.
It was the Sooners’ fourth 30-point win of the season and seventh by 20 or more. And it was a game where their depth continued to show out. Seven players scored eight or more points, with three in double figures.
On the season, the Sooners have three players ([autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag], [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], and [autotag]John Hugley IV[/autotag]) averaging more than 10 points per game. They also have three more players ([autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag], [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag], and [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag] averaging more than eight points per game.
[autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag] and [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] are averaging just under eight points per game, giving the Sooners eight players scoring seven or more points per game this season.
As impressive as the offensive numbers are, the defense is what is turning heads. Oklahoma had 12 steals and four blocks while forcing 20 Green Bay turnovers. On the glass, the Sooners outrebounded the Phoenix 42-26 in the win.
It was another strong statement to the NCAA tournament selection committee. Sure, the opponent isn’t going to move the needle, but the way Oklahoma has dominated teams like Green Bay will certainly make the committee take notice in March.
But according to [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag], this is a team that can continue to improve.
“I see the gaps of mistakes keep shrinking,” head coach Porter Moser said after the win. “And here’s what’s crazy: I feel like we’ve got a big room to get better, and I think (the players) would say the same thing.”
It was just a one-point game with just under six minutes to play in the first half. But then, the Sooners turned up the defensive pressure, forcing six turnovers in the final six minutes and going on a 15-0 run to close the half.
The Oklahoma Sooners have just three more nonconference games before opening Big 12 play with a date against Iowa State. The biggest test to date comes when they travel to Charlotte, N.C., to take on the UNC Tar Heels in their backyard. The Tar Heels might have three losses on the schedule, but it’s the Tar Heels. They’re one of the blue bloods in college basketball.
Wednesday’s game in the Jumpman Invitational provides Moser and the Sooners an opportunity to put a feather in their cap before the grind of Big 12 play begins. With the way the Sooners are playing, it’s hard to count them out of any contest. They’re simply finding ways to win with their efforts at both ends of the floor.
Oklahoma offers 2024 EDGE Amaris Williams out of North Carolina.
Clemson’s proximity to the state of North Carolina made it a highly attractive destination for the Tigers’ coaching staff to frequent on the recruiting trail. Brent Venables and Todd Bates used this to their advantage while they were at Clemson together. They have recruited multiple four and five-star players from North Carolina.
Now in Norman, that plan of action has not changed. Todd Bates recently offered 2024 DL Amaris Williams out of Clinton, NC. Williams is being recruited by the big in-state schools like UNC and NC State. However, the Sooners have now tossed their hat into the ring for the 2024 EDGE defender.
Williams is blossoming from a local in-state name into a national prospect, gaining offers from teams on the west coast, like USC. Could he follow the same trajectory as 2023 edge signee Adepoju Adebawore, who was starting to gain some traction this time last year?
Oklahoma’s going to have to make up ground if they want to figure into this race as UNC and NC State have both made noticeable impressions early on.
Oklahoma has no commitments in 2024 as it stands right now. Like in 2023, it could be a bit before the Sooners have their first name on the commitment sheet. The EDGE position group is wide open at the moment. With that information, Oklahoma’s board at that position is far from set in stone and is still taking shape.
Oklahoma returns to action on Tuesday against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Here’s how you can tune into the action. From @thatmanbryant
The Oklahoma Sooners play the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Tuesday, November 11, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
Oklahoma laces up their Jordans in a return to action Tuesday night against the Colonial Athletic Association’s UNC-Wilmington. The Seahawks hail from the coast of North Carolina, where legend Michael Jordan grew up and played his high school basketball.
It’s been an inauspicious start to the season for the Sooners, who suffered a loss in the first game of the season in which they collapsed late and lost to Sam Houston State 52-51. They got back at it this past Friday and made their way into the win column after beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 66-58.
Elsewhere, the Seahawks started their season by making the 2 hour trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on the nation’s number-one team, the UNC Tarheels. They held firm for about 25 minutes of game time before UNC hit a different gear and took control to win the game. They bounced back with a 104-55 victory over Allen on Friday, Nov 11. The Seahawks are coached by Takayo Siddle, who is in his third year as head coach and has compiled a 35-20 record.
These teams will meet for the first time in each other’s history on Tuesday night.
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