Texas gets bump to No. 9 in new AP Poll

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team (19-7, 11-6) is No. 9 in this week’s AP Poll.

That comes as no surprise, of course. Texas, ranked No. 13 in last week’s poll, managed to clinch a Big 12 Tournament win over the then-No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys over the weekend. It was the Longhorns’ first time to take the Big 12 Tournament title home. It was also head coach Shaka Smart’s first trip to the big game, after Rick Barnes had six tries.

The Longhorns then followed up that achievement on Selection Sunday by earning a No. 3 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, where they’ll face No. 14 Abilene Christian. It’ll be Smart’s third appearance in the NCAA Tournament since taking over.

Elsewhere in the Big 12, the Baylor Bears fell from No. 2 to No. 3, behind Illinois. Oklahoma State improved to No. 11. The Kansas Jayhawks fell to No. 12. The West Virginia Mountaineers fell to No. 13. And the Texas Tech Red Raiders fell to No. 21 nationally.