NCAA Basketball: OK State jumps up, Villanova crashes down in latest top-25 ranking
![Mar 6, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Kalib Boone (22) celebrates with Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (12) after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports Mar 6, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Kalib Boone (22) celebrates with Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (12) after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/d8eb5ff28f07493ef16794fa07dfd81aff1276e9b95e8a665481dfb71d0dc48c.jpg)
12. Texas Longhorns (16-7, 10-6)
It was a good week for the Longhorns, winning a pair of road games in league play. They defeated Iowa State by 14 points before taking on rival Oklahoma. Texas had a sizeable lead and almost blew it at the end by holding on to the 69-65 win. Andrew Jones had 16 points, while Jericho Sims had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Texas will end the regular season and four-game road trip at TCU. A win would give them no worst than a 4 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. If they can go on a run this upcoming week, they could find themselves with a very favorable spot in the Big Dance.
11. West Virginia Mountaineers (18-8, 11-6)
All things considered, Mountaineer fans have to be fairly disappointed with the results of the three home games. They had an opportunity to beat Baylor earlier in the week but fell in overtime, despite 26 points off the bench from Taz Sherman. West Virginia was able to beat TCU on Thursday but then lost to an Oklahoma State team missing both Cade Cunningham and Isaac Likelele, 85-80. That’s a bad loss considering the circumstances.
The Mountaineers will be either a 3 or a 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, depending on what Texas does on Sunday. A 3 would allow them to avoid Baylor until the title game, allowing them to rack up more quality wins to make a case for a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
10. Oklahoma State Cowboys (18-7, 11-7)
After completing the impressive regular-season sweep over rival Oklahoma, the Cowboys stayed competitive against No. 3 Baylor before star guard Cade Cunningham went down with an ankle injury. They lost but the injury wasn’t too serious, although both he and Isaac Likelele were out for Saturday’s clash at West Virginia. That proved to be no problem, as sophomore guard Avery Anderson went off for a career-high 31 points to lead them to the 85-80 upset.
Oklahoma State could be a 4-6 seed depending on Sunday’s results for the conference tournament but they have quietly racked up a ton of victories to boose its resume for the NCAA Tournament. Another 1 or 2 Quad 1 wins and a 3 seed is possible for the Cowboys.