K-State Surges to No. 2 in Latest Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings
The Big 12 men’s basketball season is now 11 weeks old and this conference has proven to be a brutal showcase for complete chaos. You have to love it.
The majority of the teams in the conference moved up or down this week. There was controversy postgame and drama on the court. It wasn’t just a typical week in the Big 12. It had a little zest to it.
After 11 weeks, we present our latest Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings for the 2023-24 season and five games into Big 12 play.
Tier One
1. Texas Tech (15-3, 4-1) – Last Week — 2
2. Kansas State (14-4, 4-1) – Last Week — 6
The Red Raiders and the Wildcats are the only two teams left in the league with just one conference loss. So, they’re on the top tier. I’m not sure anyone had these two teams with one league loss after five games. But, here we are.
Texas Tech absorbed a big road loss to Houston but bounced back to rally from 17 back to beat BYU. Pop Isaacs is the most electric player in the league (and there is a lot of competition for that honor). But there is also a lot of toughness on this Red Raiders team. Tech showed that against BYU. We’ll only see the Red Raiders once this coming week as they get a bye during the week.
Kansas State’s Will McNair told the media after the Wildcats’ win over Oklahoma State that “we love to win ugly.” The Wildcats are doing that in spades. And K-State loves tight games, too. The Wildcats are 6-1 in games decided by five points or less this season and 10-0 in overtime under coach Jerome Tang.
They’re the two best teams in the league right now — but it’s a slender margin.
Tier Two
3. Houston (16-2, 3-2) – Last Week — 9
4. Oklahoma (14-4, 2-3) – Last Week — 8
5. Iowa State (14-4, 3-2) – Last Week — 4
6. Kansas (15-3, 3-2) – Last Week — 3
7. Texas (13-5, 2-3) – Last Week — 7
8. Baylor (14-4, 3-2) – Last Week — 1
I’ll be honest — I changed the order here a few times. I believe this is the right second tier. But given the early parity we’re seeing I think you could order this many different ways.
I started with the two teams that went undefeated for the week — Houston and Oklahoma. The Cougars get a slight edge because they beat a ranked team and OU did not.
Baylor lost both games for the week. So the Bears go to the bottom. In between? Order them however you want.
Tier Three
9. BYU (14-4, 2-3) – Last Week — 12
10. Cincinnati (13-5, 2-3) – Last Week — 11
11. TCU (13-5, 2-3) – Last Week — 5
12. UCF (11-6, 2-3) – Last Week — 10
13. West Virginia (7-11, 2-3) – Last Week — 13
Again, quibble with the order. BYU got a great win at home over Iowa State but lost to the road to Texas Tech. Cincinnati upset TCU at home but fell at home to OU. TCU dropped a pair but could have won both. UCF got a win over Texas but then posted the worst field goal percentage in Big 12 history against Houston.
It’s such an insane conference that my gut knows that three of these teams are better than this tier. But, as I noted with the first tier, everything is slender margins right now.
I also thought about putting WVU on its own tier and creating a fifth tier. But I thought better of it. Two wins over Texas and Kansas and the Mountaineers should be on the third tier.
Tier Four
14. Oklahoma State (8-10, 0-5) – Last Week — 14
There isn’t a soul that doesn’t love OSU coach Mike Boynton Jr. There are few who understand why this team is winless after five games. Something has to change or this is going to be a brutal year to be a Cowboy.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
