Big 12 Hoops | Power Rankings - Upsets at the Top

An overtime upset loss to in-state rival K-State for the Jayhawks on the road isn’t going to slow down this team. They are still the best in the Big 12, but keep an eye on the sprained knee and a back injury to Joel Embiid. He will most likely miss some time against TCU and Texas Tech who are the next two games on the schedule.

The Longhorns have only one loss in their last nine games. It happens to be to the same K-State team that just knocked off Kansas. They slaughtered Oklahoma State 87-68 last night, without Jonathan Holmes helping them. He was sitting out with a knee injury. Their next two games will determine if they are elite or if the win streak was more luck than talent when they play West Virginia and Iowa State.

It is obvious that K-State may be the most dangerous team at home in Manhattan after they had two monster upsets against Texas and Kansas. They haven’t lost a Big 12 home game all season. But, four of their last seven games are on the road. Can they stay in the top half of the conference power rankings by winning on the road? The result of the Baylor game in Waco on Saturday will be an easy indication to answer that question.

The Mountaineers have been really hot lately, besides getting creamed in Lawrence to KU. They dominated Iowa State on Monday in Morgantown 102-77. Eron Harris was ejected in the game for a questionable hit to the head against an ISU player. It will be up to the Big 12 to determine if a suspension will follow. That would not be good with a tough game coming up on Saturday in Austin against Texas.

Melvin Ejim had 48 points against TCU on Saturday which is the most by any player in the history of the Big 12. But, West Virginia held him to only 6 points on Monday and beat the Cyclones handily. ISU has Texas Tech at home on Saturday, but a big showdown in Ames against Texas next Tuesday. A victory in the ISU versus Texas game would mean a lot of things to both teams.

The Sooners needed a win over Baylor after stumbling to ISU and WVU, and they accomplished that 88-72. This week with wins over Texas Tech and OSU they could get back on track with even more they want to accomplish. Wins this week would put them in the top half of the Big 12 power rankings and get them back into the AP top 25.

The Red Raiders won a great game in Lubbock last Saturday against Oklahoma State. Many people are saying the win was overshadowed by Marcus Smart shoving a Texas Tech fan. It might have been overshadowed to everyone else in college basketball, but not to the Texas Tech basketball team. The squad, fans, and coaches were pumped up after the victory.

Hitting the road in the Big 12 has been tough for every team. Playing the away games has been the challenge that separates the good teams from the great ones. Tech needs to prove that they can win on the road. Away games have been tight in multiple contests for the Red Raiders; they need to overcome the hump on the road to get victories just like they have in the United Spirit Arena.

Oklahoma in Norman tonight and Iowa State in Ames on Saturday. Wreck ’em Tech!

After breaking the losing streak at 5 games with a win over Oklahoma State; the Bears dropped 2 more to KU and OU last week. If they lose on the road to TCU tonight they need to go into crisis mode.

Oklahoma State doesn’t have Marcus Smart to play with on the court until February 22nd. That happens to be against Texas Tech at home in Stillwater. It’s going to be interesting for the next 2 weeks. They need a win to stop their downward spiral into the cellar. The losing streak is at 5 games right now, OSU will try to break it at home on Saturday against in-state rival Oklahoma.

TCU has 10 losses in a row. They are 0-10 in the Big 12. They play Baylor tonight. Does anyone read what I write about TCU basketball?