We are more than a week into the women’s college basketball season and it’s time to unveil our first Big 12 power rankings for the season.
I didn’t do preseason power rankings for the men or the women. There is so much newness, once again, in this conference that I felt it was better to wait and watch some games on TV and in person, such as the Utah and BYU women’s games I saw in person last week.
To start the power rankings, I’m using the coaches’ preseason rankings as a level-set. As a reminder, here were their rankings:
No. 1 Kansas State, No. 2. Iowa State, No. 3 Baylor, No. 4. TCU, No. 5 West Virginia, No. 6 Utah, No. 7 Arizona, No. 8 Kansas, No. 9 Colorado, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 12 BYU, No. 13 Cincinnati, No. 14 UCF, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 16 Houston.
We’ll do power rankings every other Thursday in non-conference and weekly once Big 12 action begins. So, let’s get to it.
No. 1 Iowa State (3-0)
Three blowouts later, the Cyclones look like a team that can do a lot of damage this season. Addy Brown (17 ppg, 9.7 rpg) leads the way while guard Emily Ryan (7.7 apg, 2.3 spg) is back to doing Emily Ryan things. TCU transfer Sydney Harris (10.3 ppg) is a perfect fit for Iowa State.
No. 2 Kansas State (2-0)
The first big test is coming Thursday against Creighton. What stands out after two relatively easy wins is the depth. Temira Poindexter (19 ppg) and Kennedy Taylor (8.0 rpg) lead the Wildcats, while holdover Zyanna Walker leads with six assists per game. One thing to watch is center Ayoka Lee, who only played 10 minutes in the opener and didn’t play in the next game.
No. 3 TCU (3-0)
Right now, TCU is just running over people. But, the Horned Frogs haven’t played a high-major yet. But that’s coming, as they’ll host NC State on Sunday. The stars — Sedona Prince, Madison Conner and Hailey Van Lith — are averaging nearly 60 points per game so far. As Lith said on Wednesday about the team’s hot start, “They know who we are.”
No. 4 West Virginia (3-0)
The Mountaineers just won the Backyard Brawl and guards Jordan Harrison (19.3 ppg) and Sydney Shaw (16.7 ppg) are leading WVU in scoring ahead of JJ Quinerly (14.0 ppg). That’s good news for this offense. So is Kyah Watson grabbing 10 rebounds per game so far.
No. 5 Baylor (1-1)
One can’t punish Baylor too much for testing itself against Oregon and losing by two points. Losing guard Jana Van Gytenbeek for the season to an ACL tear is punishment enough. The Bears have Aliyah Matharu on stand-by but she can’t play until after the fall semester.
No. 6 Arizona (4-0)
The Wildcats are playing a high volume of games, but their last win over UNLV was a stern test that Arizona passed. The breakthrough of freshman Lauryn Swann against the Rebels is going to serve the team well as the season continues.
No. 7 Utah (2-0)
The Utes are a solid team and they’ll be hard to deal with. The infusion of forward Maya Toure into the starting lineup is going to allow Utah to stretch out defenses. It’s early, but five different Utes are averaging double figures.
No. 8 Kansas (2-0)
Everyone knew S’Mya Nichols was going to be the star of the show, and she’s averaging 18 points in 24 minutes per game. But Brittany Hanshaw is pushing the envelope for the Jayhawks with 11.5 points and nine rebounds per game.
No. 9 Texas Tech (3-0)
The Lady Raiders know how to get off to a good start, and their upcoming matchup with Washington State is going to be a good early test. The holdovers are producing, as Jasmine Shavers and Bailey Maupin are combining for 26 points per game.
No. 10 BYU (3-0)
The Cougars are taking to their four- and five-out offense and freshman Delaney Gibb has already procured a Big 12 weekly award. She’s averaging nearly 20 points per game. Forward Emma Calvert is going to be an intriguing player to watch when the Cougars run five players outside the paint.
No. 11 Colorado (3-1)
The Buffs have already absorbed a loss, falling to Boise State last week. Offense is a bit of a challenge right now, but Jade Masogayo is off to a good start as she’s averaging 12.8 points in 20.8 minutes per game.
No. 12 Oklahoma State (3-0)
The Cowgirls have a lot of new parts to work with, but one of their holdovers is off to a huge start. Anna Gret Asi is averaging 18.3 points. She’s one of five Cowgirls averaging double figures, including last year’s top freshman, Stailee Heard.
No. 13 Cincinnati (3-0)
A strong start for the Bearcats, buoyed by Jillian Hayes and her Big 12 player of the week award. Cincinnati is off until next week and then its back-to-back games against Big East teams — Seton Hall and Georgetown.
No. 14 UCF (2-0)
Beating Marquette was a solid victory for the Knights. Forward Hannah Gusters is already making a difference inside, as the LSU and Oklahoma State transfer is averaging 10.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in their first two games.
No. 15 Arizona State (1-1)
ASU dropped a 100-96 loss to Arkansas State at home. The good news is that the Sun Devils showed they can score plenty of points. Guard Tyi Skinner is off to a huge start as she has scored 23 points per game.
No. 16 Houston (0-2)
Houston lost two players to injury that it expected to contribute this season — and that was before the season began. Losses to UT Rio Grande Valley and Georgia may indicate the Cougars are in for a long season. But there is early runway to turn things around.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
