Houston Takes the Top Spot in the Latest Big 12 Men’s Basketball Power Rankings
The Big 12 men’s basketball season is now 12 weeks old and these power rankings just keep seeing all sorts of movement, thanks to action last week.
It’s been an incredible race so far. We have a new No. 1 team this week, we contract the power rankings to three tiers and, as was the case last week, there’s plenty to debate.
After 12 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. Houston (18-2, 5-2) – Last Week — 3
2. Texas Tech (16-3, 5-1) – Last Week — 1
3. Iowa State (16-4, 5-2) – Last Week — 5
I got some push-back on not having Houston below Texas Tech and Kansas State last week, in spite of Houston’s win over Texas Tech. My logic was two-fold. First, Houston needed to show me it could win on the road. Second, Houston had Kansas State coming up. So any remaining questions I had would be answered quickly.
Houston beat BYU on the road. Check the box. Houston obliterated Kansas State at home. Check the box.
Houston moves to the No. 1 slot. By just about any significant metric the Cougars are the best defensive team in college basketball. They’re holding home opponents under 55 points per game. They are developing a multitude of offensive options. They’ve also reset themselves after that lost week on the road and have won four straight.
Tech only moves down one slot as the Red Raiders only played one game last week and beat Oklahoma on the road. It was only by a point but any road win in this league is precious.
Iowa State slides up to the first tier after executing a Kansas State-Kansas sweep. The difference this season is their 3-point shooting, as I pointed out in my thoughts from Saturday’s games.
Tier Two
4. Kansas (16-4, 4-3) – Last Week — 6
5. TCU (15-5, 4-3) – Last Week — 11
6. Kansas State (14-6, 4-3) – Last Week — 2
7. Texas (14-6, 3-4) – Last Week — 7
8. Oklahoma (15-5, 3-4) – Last Week — 4
9. Baylor (14-5, 3-3) – Last Week — 8
I’m not going to lie — this is a mushy middle. The only team on this tier that didn’t lose a game last week was TCU, which claimed big road wins at Oklahoma State and Baylor, the latter going to triple overtime. So the Horned Frogs get a big bump here.
Kansas splits but moves up. Kansas State gets swept and drops a tier, but I was hesitant to drop them further because the Wildcats have been resilient. Texas splits and holds steady.
Oklahoma and Baylor went a combined 0-3 so both fall. OU takes the steeper drop for losing two games at home, while Baylor stays on the second tier. The Bears have lost three straight and are on the precipice of falling to the third tier.
Tier Three
10. BYU (15-5, 4-3) – Last Week — 9
11. Cincinnati (14-6, 3-4) – Last Week — 10
12. UCF (12-7, 3-4) – Last Week — 12
13. Oklahoma State (9-11, 1-6) – Last Week — 14
14. West Virginia (7-13, 2-5) – Last Week — 13
I’m having the most trouble with BYU. Are the Cougars a second-tier or third-tier team? Just when I think I have them figured out, they have a week like last week when they fall to Houston at home and then beat Texas at home by 12. There isn’t a team in this league that is so clearly defined by one single stat than BYU’s 3-point shooting. When it’s on, the Cougars are probably going to win. When it’s off, well, they’re not.
It’s time for Cincinnati to pay itself back for being stubborn in defeat. The Bearcats have lost four Big 12 games by a combined 13 points. That’s how crazy the margins are in this league.
Oklahoma State moves up a spot after winning its first Big 12 game and WVU falls after losing both games last week. Plus, OSU claimed that first Big 12 win over WVU.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
