Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings
These rankings answer a simple question, “If the teams played a seven-game series against everyone, who would win right now?”
I think things will change over the next three months. But we reward the present.
1) Texas (6-1) — The Longhorns pounded Gonzaga and beat Creighton at home. As Ashley and I have detailed on the podcast, whether Texas can stay here comes down to 3-point shooting. The Horns rank 307th nationally in 3-point percentage.
2) Baylor (7-2) — Is the Bears’ defensive improvement for real? Baylor’s up 32 spots from its low mark. If Baylor can get into the 20s, it’s the Big 12 favorite. It can win at a lower mark, but it’d be the clear favorite in my eyes if it got there.
3) Kansas (8-1) — Jalen Wilson has a case for Big 12 Player of the Year. Gradey Dick has looked good. I still worry about how well the offense flows with Dejuan Harris, Kevin McCullar and KJ Adams on the floor at the same time.
4) TCU (7-1) — Maybe we’re getting a little projection-y by having TCU ranked here. The Frogs have been better lately with wins over Iowa and Providence. The challenge for TCU is that the non-conference schedule is anemic, which means an 8-10 Big 12 record likely leaves them out of the dance.
5) Texas Tech (6-2) — You can say, “Texas Tech expected Louisville and Georgetown to be good,” but Texas Tech is going to have the worst collection of non-conference wins of anyone. So the Red Raiders better hope they’re not lower on this list.
6) Oklahoma (7-2) — You can argue for a bunch of teams in this spot. The Sooners have some okay wins, which distinguishes them for me.
7) West Virginia (7-2) — The Florida win does enough here. A much better team than expected in the preseason.
8) Iowa State (7-2) — Kendall, “Iowa State beat North Carolina and St. John’s, why aren’t they higher?” North Carolina is terrible right now. I need to see a little more from the Clones.
9) Kansas State (8-1) — Jerome Tang has the program way ahead of schedule. I still think this team is a year away, but if Keyontae Johnson keeps this up, they’ll pop someone in the top three.
10) Oklahoma State (6-3) — The Cowboys desperately need to beat Virginia Tech to have much hope of making the tournament. I don’t see Oklahoma State going 10-8 in the Big 12.