Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings

Conference play is really starting to heat up. Is your team getting hot, or getting kicked out of the kitchen?

1. Kansas (17-1): Last week’s ranking, 2. Kansas is undefeated in conference play, and their only blemish so far this season was against a good Indiana team. Now that Baylor has lost I’m not sure how you can argue against this.
2. West Virginia (15-2): Last week’s ranking, 3. West Virginia absolutely STOMPED Baylor. I was going to put Baylor above WVU, but you can’t ignore the head to head. They handed the Bears their only loss of the season by the score of 89-68.
3. Baylor (16-1): Last week’s ranking, 1. Again, not only did they get beat, they got hammered. Still a good team with a lot of hope, but they didn’t last long atop the national rankings.
4. TCU (14-3): Last week’s ranking, 7. Yes, you read that right, and like me, you might have had to re-read it. TCU survived against Texas, which is fine. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just get by. They edge Texas 64-61, as well as handle Iowa State 84-78 to climb to the number four spot in this week’s rankings. This team is no longer an easy win, I’m starting to think that there will be no “easy” wins this season.
5. Iowa State (11-6): Last week’s ranking, 5. Iowa state has had a tough week. They have dropped their last two, but the only reason I’m keeping them where they are is the fashion in which they have lost. A lot of close games, they just can’t seem to get over the hump.
6. Texas Tech (13-4): Last week’s ranking, 6. Texas Tech is in a weird spot. They are 2-3 in conference play, but they could easily be 3-2. That doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but it is. They could also just as easily be 0-5, with their two conference wins coming in too-close-for-comfort, thrilling fashion. One thing is for sure, they need to start learning how to win on the road.
7. Kansas State (13-4): Last week’s ranking, 4. It’s been a rough week for Kansas State as well. They have dropped their last two, one being by one to Tech, and one being to Baylor. This team has a lot of potential, but they are not quite playing at the caliber that they need to be.
8. Oklahoma (7-9): Last week’s ranking, 10. The only reason why Oklahoma moved up is being they earned a pretty decisive home win against Texas Tech. They aren’t showing signs of being a tourney team right now, but you never know.
9. Texas (7-10): Last week’s ranking, 9. Well, not much else to say here. It makes me laugh to see the manner in which Texas keeps losing these close games, but hey, I’m not gonna lose any sleep because of it. They have dropped their last two games by a combined five points. Thanks to that one conference win, they will no longer be the bottom feeders, at least not for this week.
10. Oklahoma State (10-7): Last week’s ranking, 8. I put Oklahoma State at the bottom due to their winless conference schedule. As we all know, a good non-conference record won’t get you anywhere if you can’t get it done when it matters.