After a close win against Baylor and a disappointing defeat at Texas, the Oklahoma Sooners fell five spots to No. 17 in this week’s AP Poll.

Big Monday opponent West Virginia comes in at No. 19 after also going 1-1 this past week. Texas Tech is the Big 12’s top representative at No. 7, followed by the No. 10 Kansas Jayhawks. All of this past week’s action just goes to show how much of a meat grinder this conference truly is, and the race is pretty wide-open at this point. The Sooners and Mountaineers sit one game back of Texas Tech and Kansas in the conference standings, so tonight’s game between the two is crucial to say the least. Trae Young will need to utilize lessons learned in the previous meeting in order to avoid a defeat, and I’m confident that he and his teammates can get the job done on their home court.

AP Poll

1. Villanova (48)
2. Virginia (16)
3. Purdue (1)
4. Michigan State
5. Xavier
6. Cincinnati
7. Texas Tech
8. Auburn
9. Duke
10. Kansas
11. Saint Mary’s
12. Gonzaga
13. Arizona
14. Ohio State
15. Tennessee
16. Clemson
17. Oklahoma
18. Rhode Island
19. West Virginia
20. Michigan
21. North Carolina
22. Wichita State
23. Nevada
24. Kentucky
25. Miami