The Oklahoma Sooners earned an emphatic win on Saturday when they overcame a four-point halftime deficit to beat Vanderbilt by 30 points at the Lloyd Noble Center. It was an important bounce-back win that moved Oklahoma to 3-5 in SEC play. However, the Sooners still sit well outside the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll with 10 regular season games remaining.
Oklahoma has a huge opportunity to make up ground for their 0-4 start to SEC play. The Sooners’ next game is a road matchup with the No. 1 team in the nation, the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers picked up 29 of a possible 31 first-place votes. They’re 20-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming to the No. 2 team in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, the Duke Blue Devils.
Auburn is 8-0 in SEC play this season and boasts one of the best players in the nation in Johnni Broome. Broome is averaging 18.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, posing a significant mismatch for the Oklahoma Sooners. After the Sooners take on Auburn, they’ll face Tennessee at home on Saturday. The Sooners also have top 25 matchups with Missouri, Florida, Kentucky, and Ole Miss remaining on the schedule.
If the Oklahoma Sooners can finish the season strong, they’ll have a shot at playing in the NCAA tournament, but the path to March Madness won’t be easy.
Full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
|
Ranking |
Team |
Record |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Auburn |
20-1 |
773 (29) |
|
2 |
Duke |
19-2 |
745 (2) |
|
3 |
Alabama |
19-3 |
710 |
|
4 |
Tennessee |
18-4 |
644 |
|
5 |
Houston |
17-4 |
613 |
|
6 |
Florida |
18-3 |
580 |
|
7 |
Purdue |
17-5 |
574 |
|
8 |
Iowa State |
17-4 |
564 |
|
9 |
Michigan State |
18-3 |
501 |
|
10 |
St. John’s |
19-3 |
473 |
|
11 |
Marquette |
18-4 |
439 |
|
12 |
Texas Tech |
17-4 |
436 |
|
13 |
Texas A&M |
17-5 |
410 |
|
14 |
Kentucky |
15-6 |
310 |
|
15 |
Memphis |
18-4 |
309 |
|
16 |
Missouri |
17-4 |
307 |
|
17 |
Kansas |
15-6 |
288 |
|
18 |
UConn |
16-6 |
178 |
|
19 |
Wisconsin |
17-5 |
151 |
|
20 |
Arizona |
15-6 |
148 |
|
21 |
Clemson |
18-4 |
145 |
|
22 |
Michigan |
16-5 |
117 |
|
23 |
Saint Mary’s |
20-3 |
114 |
|
24 |
Maryland |
17-5 |
110 |
|
25 |
Illinois |
15-7 |
108 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 13 Mississippi State; No. 18 Oregon; No. 22 Louisville; No. 23 Ole Miss;
Others Receiving Votes
Mississippi State 88; Ole Miss 70; Louisville 50; Creighton 44; Oregon 31; New Mexico 18; UCLA 7; West Virginia 6; Utah State 4; Gonzaga 4; Drake 2; BYU 2; UC Irvine 1; Baylor 1;
List of Voters
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2024-25 season: Tobin Anderson, Iona; Adrian Autry, Syracuse; John Becker, Vermont; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Alvin Brooks, Lamar; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Alan Huss, High Point; Donte’ Jackson, Grambling; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Niko Medved, Colorado State; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Nate Oats, Alabama; Eric Olen, UC San Diego; Matt Painter, Purdue; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Brett Tanner, Abilene Christian; Stan Waterman, Delaware State; Jeff Wulbrun, Denver.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners remain outside USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
