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OU basketball back in the top 10 of AP poll, No. 9

Bob Przybyloby:Bob Przybylo•01/08/24•

BPrzybylo

Syndication: The Oklahoman
OU guard Milos Uzan. (Nathan J. Fish - The Oklahoman/USA TODAY Network).

Every week, it feels like we’re talking about a new test for OU basketball. For the most part? The Sooners keep passing these tests.

OU earned its initial Quadrant 1 victory last weekend with a 71-63 win against Iowa State. That’s enough to propel OU from No. 11 to No. 9 this week in the AP rankings.

The key? OU brought the heart and hustle to the hardwood.

“I think we were physical too. I think we matched their physicality,” said head coach Porter Moser after the game. “They were as physical as could be. I thought it was a really physical game. And that’s what we’re gonna see. And then for them to have that resolve in the last four minutes to get some stops and get a little separation, it was big.” 

The separation coming late was a welcome surprise to OU fans. The tired story last year was OU being close in the final four minutes before falling apart.

At 13-1 overall and 1-0 in Big 12, that hasn’t been the case so far.

“Shoot, I just think it’s a complete different team than last year,” point guard Milos Uzan said. “We’ve got a lot of older guys who’ve been in situations like this before. Yeah, last year we struggled closing out games so for us to close this game out was a big jump for us.”

Rounding out the Big 12 in the rankings: No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Kansas, No. 9 OU, No. 14 Baylor, No. 18 BYU, No. 25 Texas.

Big 12 Team of the Week

It has to be Texas Tech. For the Red Raiders to go into Austin and take care of Texas? That was impressive. Solid runner-up to Cincinnati going to Provo and beating BYU. But Tech is showing last year’s disappointment means nothing toward this year’s team, much like OU.

Up next

Something something Big 12 grind. Something something two-road game week. Simply put, it won’t be easy. OU is at TCU on Wednesday and Kansas on Saturday. We might have learned more about the Frogs in their 83-81 loss to KU last Saturday than in any of its victories. You could legit go 0-2 here and still feel incredibly solid about the Sooners. Because, yes, it’s the grind.

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