Big 12 Men’s Basketball Power Rankings for Week 8
The Big 12 men’s basketball season is now eight weeks old and we’re less than a week away from the start of the conference slate on Saturday.
Because only one team sought to challenge itself in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day — that being West Virginia — the power rankings are relatively static this week. But that will all change once the results of the first league games drop on Saturday.
After eight weeks, we present our latest Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings for the 2023-24 season.
Tier One
1. Houston (13-0) – Last Week — 1
2. Kansas (12-1) – Last Week — 2
3. Texas (10-2) – Last Week — 3
4. Oklahoma (12-1) – Last Week — 4
5. BYU (12-1) – Last Week — 5
6. Baylor (10-2) – Last Week — 6
The stability here is, well, great for the conference. These also happen to be the six ranked teams in the Big 12 and you can quibble with the order, if you wish. But these are likely to be the teams that will duke it out for the Top four seeds in the Big 12 Tournament, which come with a double bye.
The funny thing about the first tier is that none of these teams play each other on Saturday. We’re stuck waiting a bit longer for some head-to-head matchups. But it also means the teams below them can create a little chaos.
Tier Two
7. Iowa State (11-2) – Last Week — 7
8. TCU (10-2) – Last Week — 8
9. Cincinnati (11-2) – Last Week — 9
10. Texas Tech (10-2) – Last Week — 10
No changes here. Iowa State got Hason Ward back this weekend, this is great for the team’s depth in the frontcourt. Cincinnati is battling injuries right now and it’s not clear if they will be full strength for their Big 12 opener against BYU. Texas Tech and TCU continue to move along and both have matchups against ranked teams this weekend (TCU vs. Kansas and Texas Tech vs. Texas).
Tier 3
11. Kansas State (9-3) – Last Week — 11
12. UCF (9-3) – Last Week — 12
13. Oklahoma State (7-5) – Last Week — 13
14. West Virginia (5-8) – Last Week — 14
Kansas State is supposed to get Ques Glover back from injury tomorrow. That should bolster the Wildcats’ depth and they’ll be as full strength as possible going into Big 12 action.
West Virginia was the only Big 12 team to challenge itself this week and, hat’s off to the Mountaineers for pushing Ohio State to overtime and only losing by three. There are no moral victories, of course. But it’s something for a team that may not be able to dig its way out of the cellar until Jesse Edwards returns. Good news there — coach Josh Eilert says Edwards is recovering on time from his fractured wrist.
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