We are three weeks into the men’s college basketball season and it’s time to update our Big 12 power rankings after the first three weeks of the season.
Two weeks ago, I published our first power rankings, based on the first week of play. As I noted then, we didn’t do preseason power rankings due to all the newness in the conference.
Now, we have three weeks’ worth of games to look at and some Big 12 teams have now played multiple power conference opponents. We’ll start to use that when we weigh certain teams against other teams that haven’t had that test yet.
This week’s rankings will include where each team was ranked two weeks ago. As a reminder, we’ll do power rankings every two weeks until we get to league action, and then we’ll do them every week.
No. 1 Kansas (5-0, Last Ranking: 1)
The Jayhawks are now 2-0 against power conference teams and are handling mid-major competition without much issue. Now, a big matchup is coming with Duke on Tuesday, plus Creighton, Missouri and NC State after Thanksgiving. If the Jayhawks win all those games, well, forget about it — they’re not moving off this line.
No. 2 Iowa State (3-0, Last Ranking: 3)
The schedule is about to get tough for Iowa State, which handled its first three low- and mid-major opponents easily. The Cyclones get Auburn on Monday, then Marquette after Thanksgiving. Those two games, plus the Iowa showdown, will tell us if the Cyclones are ready to pull ahead of Houston.
No. 3 Cincinnati (5-0, Last Ranking: No. 5)
In trying to assess how far to move Cincinnati up, one has to consider that it has something that two other undefeated teams — BYU and Colorado — don’t, and that’s a win over a power conference team in Georgia Tech. The Bearcats have done much of it without guard Dan Skillings Jr. Forward Dillon Mitchell’s game is growing fast.
No. 4 Houston (3-1, Last Ranking: 2)
The Cougars do have the loss to Auburn, but they’ve bounced back nicely. Joseph Tugler with 17 points off the bench against Hofstra is the kind of depth the Cougars want. I don’t see the Cougars falling any further from here anytime soon.
No. 5 Texas Tech (5-1, Last Ranking: No. 8)
This has the makings of an elite shooting team from outside. The Red Raiders had a solid week in New York, as they beat Syracuse and lost to Saint Joseph’s by a point. That one-point loss isn’t a bad loss, as SJU could be an NCAA Tournament team by March.
No. 6 BYU (5-0, Last Ranking: No. 10)
The schedule is soft and all five wins were at home. But, BYU is playing with a great deal of efficiency right now and you have to reward a team for a 5-0 start. Don’t fret, though. BYU’s next four games are against Ole Miss, Providence, Fresno State and Wyoming. So things are about to get real.
No. 7 Baylor (4-2, Last Ranking: 6)
The Bears were the hardest team to slot. No Big 12 has played more power conference teams to this point than Baylor’s four and the Bears are 2-2. The wins have been great. The losses, both by double digits, are concerning. The good news is that guard Langston Love is finally back.
No. 8 Colorado (4-0, Last Ranking: No. 16)
This was about as high as I could rank Colorado this time around, given that it hasn’t played a power conference team yet and had to slide by Northern Colorado at one point. The Buffaloes get Michigan State, plus other potential tests, at a tournament this week.
No. 9 Arizona (2-2, Last Ranking: No. 4)
I absolutely struggled with this one. The Wildcats played two games in eight days against power conference teams and lost both. I’m not worried long-term about Arizona, but I have early concerns about how Duke was able to solve Arizona’s considerable interior game. The Wildcats are liable to be volatile for a while.
No. 10 Arizona State (5-1, Last Ranking: No. 12)
The Sun Devils’ only loss is to Gonzaga, and their loss was by fewer points than Baylor’s. Arizona State handled Grand Canyon and has won three straight going into the week. ASU’s next test might not be until Florida on Dec. 14. But this unit is playing well as Joson Sanon gives the Sun Devils great production.
No. 11 UCF (4-2, Last Ranking: No. 7)
The bloom is off the rose a bit. But the Knights are testing themselves with three games against power conference teams, including their most recent 109-102 loss to LSU. The Knights are doing this short-handed, too. They’re not fully healthy — yet.
No. 12 TCU (4-1, Last Ranking: No. 11)
The Horned Frogs’ lone loss is to Michigan on the road. The other for wins have been over mid- and low-majors at home. Now, coming up TCU gets Santa Clara, Xavier and Vanderbilt, the last at a neutral site. We’ll have a real sense of where the Horned Frogs are at by then.
No. 13 Kansas State (4-2, Last Ranking: No. 9)
The Wildcats missed out on their shot at beating a power conference team in falling to LSU. Kansas State’s games have featured slow starts so far and the Wildcats need to get that rectified by the time they get to Big 12 action. That loss to Liberty on Sunday hurt.
No. 14 Oklahoma State (4-2, Last Ranking: No. 15)
You have to give the Cowboys a little credit for that win over Miami, but they followed it right up with a loss to Nevada. OSU is inconsistent but intriguing, starting with how guard Bryce Thompson has taken to coach Steve Lutz’s offensive system.
No. 15 Utah (4-1, Last Ranking: No. 16)
I don’t see much difference between the Utes, the Cowboys and the Mountaineers right now. Utah had its chance to beat a power conference team and lost to Mississippi State. Their mid-major wins are what one would expect this time of year.
No. 16 West Virginia (3-1, Last Ranking: No. 13)
The Backyard Brawl loss to Pitt is concerning. The final result — a 14-point loss — wasn’t that competitive. The next two games are against Gonzaga and Georgetown. The Mountaineers may be down here for a bit.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
