Sooners Debut at No. 19 in AP Top 25 Poll

NORMAN -- Two weeks after debuting at No. 19 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll, the Oklahoma men's basketball team also appears in the No. 19 slot of the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, released today.

OU's No. 19 position marks its first preseason AP ranking since the 2009-10 season when it was No. 17.

Lon Kruger's Sooners are one of four Big 12 teams that appear in the top 20. Fellow league members Kansas (No. 5), Texas (No. 10) and Iowa State (No. 14) are also ranked.

OU returns four starters and 68 percent of its scoring and 70 percent of its rebounding from last year's Big 12 runner-up squad, which finished 23-10 overall and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Sooners averaged 81.9 points a game in 2013-14, the nation's seventh highest figure and the program's highest in 20 years.

The returning starters are junior guard and preseason All-Big 12 selection Buddy Hield (16.5 ppg), junior guard Isaiah Cousins (11.0 ppg), sophomore guard Jordan Woodard (10.3 ppg, 4.6 apg) and junior forward Ryan Spangler (9.6 ppg, Big 12-leading 9.3 rpg).

The Sooners open the 2014-15 season Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in a home exhibition game against Washburn. The first regular season contest is slated for 2 p.m. on Nov. 16 against Southeastern Louisiana inside Lloyd Noble Center.

Fans may buy season tickets, six-game mini plans and single-game tickets here.

Preseason AP Top 25 Poll

1. Kentucky
2. Arizona
3. Wisconsin
4. Duke
5. Kansas
6. North Carolina
7. Florida
8. Louisville
9. Virginia
10. Texas
11. Wichita State
12. Villanova
13. Gonzaga
14. Iowa State
15. VCU
16. San Diego State
17. Connecticut
18. Michigan State
19. Oklahoma
20. Ohio State
21. Nebraska
22. SMU
23. Syracuse
24. Michigan
T25. Harvard
T25. Utah