Big 12 Women’s Basketball Power Rankings for Week 9
The Big 12 women’s basketball season is now 9 weeks old and after three games of league play we’re starting to seem significant separation.
You’ll find consistent at the top but plenty of volatility after that, as we’re starting to learn much more about these teams in the rigors of Big 12 action.
Below we present our ninth Big 12 women’s basketball power rankings for the 2023-24 season and after three Big 12 games.
Tier One
1. Baylor (14-0, 3-0) – Last Week — 1
2. Kansas State (15-1, 3-0) – Last Week — 2
3. Texas (15-1, 2-1) – Last Week — 3
You’ll find all the volatility you want below this tier. But as far as the top tier, nothing has changed.
Baylor blew out TCU after a tough first half and now the Bears have beaten every high-major team they’ve faced, including four ranked teams. The Bears have proven they have the best team in the conference and this may be coach Nicki Collen’s best team in three seasons. The depth and the matchup issues are just going to give opponents fits.
Kansas State got a soft landing into Big 12 play with three of the new teams in their first three games. The Wildcats have absolutely taken care of business. But the tests come this week with Oklahoma and Texas at home.
As for Texas, after losing Rori Harmon the Longhorns bounced back and blew out Texas Tech and West Virginia on the road. Great response by the Longhorns. They also got forward Taylor Jones back. Texas is as full strength as they’re going to be this season.
Tier Two
4. Oklahoma (9-5, 3-0) – Last Week — 11
5. Iowa State (10-4, 3-0) – Last Week — 12
6. West Virginia (13-1, 2-1) – Last Week — 5
7. Texas Tech (13-3, 2-1) – Last Week — 6
8. Oklahoma State (9-5, 2-1) – Last Week — 12
9. TCU (14-2, 1-2) – Last Week — 4
Lots of movement here this week. First, Oklahoma bounced back in a big way with a 3-0 start and now gets a crack at Kansas State on Wednesday. That’s a game everyone should be watching. As for Iowa State, well, they’ve taken care of business and they’re doing it with Emily Ryan coming off the bench and coach Bill Fennelly taking great care to not disrupt the chemistry built while Ryan was out. Well done.
West Virginia and Texas Tech both took hits this week. Both teams were blown out by Texas at home. WVU beat Cincinnati at home and then Texas Tech beat Kansas at home. The Mountaineers stay a bit above Texas Tech at this point.
TCU takes the big hit this week. It was not my intention to drop them this far after losing to Baylor. That was the first ranked team the Horned Frogs had played this season and I think Baylor is one of the best teams in the country.
But the loss to Oklahoma State at home on Saturday, combined with the loss of center Sedona Prince, is concerning in the short term. The Horned Frogs have some things to figure out.
Tier Three
10. BYU (10-6, 0-3) – Last Week — 8
11. UCF (9-4, 0-3) – Last Week — 7
12. Houston (9-5, 0-3) – Last Week — 9
13. Kansas (7-7, 0-3) – Last Week — 13
14. Cincinnati (8-6, 0-3) – Last Week — 14
With this tier, I’m not sure the rankings matter that much. All five are winless. The tier is comprised of the four new teams, who are a combined 0-12 so far and have not played each other yet. It’s possible that none of them get a league win until they play one another. BYU was competitive on the road at Iowa State on Saturday. But the separation here is clear.
The stunner is Kansas. This is a team that going into the season I felt was a dark horse to finish in the Top 4 because of their talent and experience. Now, after an 0-3 start in league action they’ve .500 for the season. As big as Texas Tech beating Kansas was for the Lady Raiders, it was just as significant for the Jayhawks to lose that game. That was a game they needed.
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