OU Men's Basketball Team Ranked 23rd by The Sporting News

Sept. 13, 2000

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's basketball team has been ranked No. 23 in The Sporting News' preseason poll, the magazine announced today. The Sooners are one of three Big 12 squads to crack the top 25 as Kansas is ranked seventh and Missouri 25th.

Oklahoma, which returns six players, including three starters, from last season's 27-7 team, is coming off its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson. Ready to begin his seventh season at OU, Sampson welcomes one of the top-rated recruiting classes in the country to try to help offset the loss of four seniors, including third-team All-American Eduardo Najera.

"The Sooners have one of the nation's best backcourts, but they can't be an unbalanced team and expect too much success," says the magazine. "That means a couple of the newcomers in the frontcourt need to come up big. The good news is that the talent is there, it just may take some time. But under Sampson, the production should come. With their stable of ballhandlers and sharpshooters and trademark tough, physical defense, a deep Oklahoma team should be in the mix along with Missouri and Texas as the Big 12 teams that have the best chance of toppling Kansas."

The Sporting News' Preseason Top 25
1. Duke
2. Arizona
3. Michigan State
4. Stanford
5. Maryland
6. Tennessee
7. Kansas
8. Illinois
9. Seton Hall
10. Kentucky
11. North Carolina
12. Florida
13. Cincinnati
14. Utah
15. Alabama
16. Notre Dame
17. UCLA
18. Virginia
19. Wisconsin
20. Connecticut
21. USC
22. Arkansas
23. Oklahoma
24. DePaul
25. Missouri

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Men's Basketball Team Ranked 23rd by The Sporting News

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