Where do the teams stack up with less than a month to go?
#1 Houston
Had I released rankings last week, Houston would have likely dropped to around 3rd. However, I sat around for whatever reason and didn’t do any power rankings, so the Cougars stay atop, despite a convincing loss to Kansas two Saturdays ago. Houston rebounded winning both games last week, although it was close with Cincinnati. With KU falling out of the race for the time being, Monday’s clash against Iowa State will have heavy Big 12 title implications.
#2 Iowa State
I’m not too sure what to think with Iowa State. I probably should have them at # 1, since they own a head to head win over Houston, but on a neutral court, I’d still take the Cougars. The Cyclones still have a very realistic chance to win the conference crown, with their next two games against Houston and Texas Tech providing excellent chances to shuffle the standings. The offense doesn’t inspire me too much to think they’ll make a March run, but guards win in March, and the Cyclones have one of the best with Tamin Lipsey.
#3 Texas Tech
The Red Raiders were due for quite the fall in these rankings, but absolutely throttled Kansas last night to keep themselves in the top 3. And don’t look now, but these guys could absolutely win the conference as well. A pivotal battle with Iowa State awaits on Saturday, and then after that, they don’t play another ranked team until they face Baylor on the final day.
#4 Kansas
#4 still feels too high after last night’s beatdown, but the Jayhawks were shorthanded and dealing with a 2 day turnaround for the third time in 2024. Certainly no excuses for one of the most abysmal performances we’ve seen recently, but Kansas still has wins over Houston and Baylor, and nearly beat Iowa State at Hilton. It’s been a disappointing season in Lawrence, but KU was a top 5 team on Barttorvik over the last month, and should they get healthy, will have a decent shot at a March run.
#5 Baylor
Kansas gave Baylor multiple chances to take the game on Saturday, but the Bears couldn’t take advantage. Baylor is certainly in the same tier as the teams above, but hasn’t done anything crazy to separate themselves.
#6 Oklahoma
We’re now into “pull teams out of hat, it’ll be just as accurate” area. Oklahoma rebounded nicely after losing at UCF (a tough place to play) to beat BYU at home. They should’ve beaten Texas Tech, too. Unfortunately, 4 of their next 5 are against current top 5 Big 12 teams.
#7 BYU
While BYU looked pretty flat in Norman, they’re 3-1 in their last 4, which you might as well call red hot in this league. The Cougars have boom or bust potential for March, which is what leading the country in 3 point attempts will do for you. The schedule is pretty chill this week, so if they don’t slip, they’ll have lots of momentum going into a Baylor rematch and a Sunflower State road trip.
#8 Texas
The Longhorns have been about .500 in conference play, so this feels about right. With road wins being as rare as they are, the win at TCU solidifies their spot here above the Horned Frogs. Texas is still kind of a puzzling team though, winning but also losing some unexpected games.
#9 TCU
TCU should certainly be higher, but back to back losses before last night’s win will keep them down here for now. The Horned Frogs have some of the best wins in the conference, but BYU, Texas, and Oklahoma are playing a tad better right now, and also have much better Kenpom and Net ratings.
#10 Cincinnati
Cincinnati has turned in a very respectable debut season, despite what the 4-6 record will tell you. The loss at West Virginia hurts their bubble resume, but they have played all the heavy hitters closer than expected. Not the greatest shooting team, the Bearcats have an excellent front court, with plenty of athletes and playmakers on the outside. Cincinnati would probably like BYU to keep improving too, so their win in Provo bolsters their resume even more.
#11 Kansas State
K-State took back temporary bragging rights beating KU in Manhattan for a second straight year, but that is their sole win in the last 6 games. They almost had another, making a furious comeback against BYU, but it was too little too late. They’ll get a week off, where hopefully they can figure some things out. There’s a decent team somewhere here, but they just have not played like it outside of the KU game.
#12 UCF
UCF opened conference play turning heads, knocking off last year’s co-champions Kansas and Texas in a matter of a week. Much like BYU and Cincinnati, the Knights have exceeded just about all expectations in their debut season. While they’re on the outside looking in of the bubble, they’ve built a sold foundation and have established themselves as one of the tougher places to play in the league.
#13 West Virginia
The post-Huggins era has not been to kind to West Virginia. They picked up the same pair of wins over Kansas and Texas that UCF has, but it’s already beginning to feel like a distant memory. I thought West Virginia might build off those wins and prove they were better than their record, but there have been quite a few uncompetitive games since. Hard to see more than 1 win left this season, but who knows.
#14 Oklahoma State
Coming in as by far the youngest team in the conference, Oklahoma State has unfortunately played like it. And not like in a 2014 Kentucky young type of way. They’ve played in a share close games and have even beaten the team right above them, but until they get a win over a halfway decent Big 12 team, they’ll stay down here.