The Big 12 women’s basketball season is three games away from its exciting conclusion as 16 teams prepare to head to Kansas City for the league tournament.
It was a long week with some significant victories, most notably West Virginia’s win over Kansas State. The Wildcats may get center Ayoka Lee back soon — and they could certainly use her.
Big games are set for this weekend, too. Iowa State heads to Baylor to try and upend the Bears, while Kansas and Kansas State play their second Sunflower Showdown game.
Sunday sets up a terrific showdown in Fort Worth between West Virginia at TCU.
Our Heartland College Sports women’s power rankings will come out every Friday until we get to the conference tournament in Kansas City.
Each week we have a note on each team.
Let’s dig in.
No. 1 TCU (25-3, 13-2; Last Ranking: No. 3)
The “Big Three” of Hailey Van Lith, Sedona Prince and Madison Conner just keep on putting up terrific numbers. The Horned Frogs are on track to host an NCAA Tournament subregional for the first time in program history.
No. 2 Baylor (23-5, 13-2; Last Ranking: No. 4)
The Bears have won seven straight games and have six players on their roster that have scored at least 1,000 points in their careers. National analysts aren’t paying enough attention to Baylor.
No. 3 Oklahoma State (21-5, 11-4; Last Ranking: No. 1)
The Cowgirls are on the edge of a double-bye for the Big 12 Tournament and their upcoming game with Colorado will be a tougher game than many think.
No. 4 West Virginia (21-5, 11-4; Last Ranking: No. 5)
Beating Kansas State at home without Lee is one thing. Beating TCU at full strength in Fort Worth on Sunday? Well, that’s another matter entirely. That would be a statement for coach Mark Kellogg and his Mountaineers.
No. 5 Kansas State (24-4, 12-3; Last Ranking: No. 2)
The Wildcats are 5-3 since Lee went down. It’s possible she returns this weekend and they have a fairly brutal stretch to end the season — home against Kansas, home against Baylor at the finale at Iowa State.
No. 6 Iowa State (19-9, 10-5; Last Ranking: No. 7)
ISU is closing in on 20 wins and, like K-State, the Cyclones have a rough end to the season as they’ll play both Baylor and Kansas State.
No. 7 Utah (20-6, 11-4; Last Ranking: No. 6)
The loss to Oklahoma State on Tuesday snapped a seven-game winning streak and quite possibly cost the Utes a double-bye in the NCAA Tournament. Winning out means beating West Virginia next week, among others.
No. 8 Colorado (17-9, 8-7; Last Ranking: No. 9)
There is definitely a gap between the teams above Colorado. The Buffs’ last three losses have been to Iowa State, Utah and Baylor by an average of 23 points.
No. 9 Arizona (16-12, 7-8; Last Ranking: No. 8)
The Wildcats are on the bubble. If they can win their final three games and, perhaps a game or two in Kansas City, and they might just get in.
No. 10 Cincinnati (15-10, 7-8; Last Ranking: No. 11)
So, what happens if the Bearcats beat Utah, Oklahoma State and West Virginia to end the regular season? That’s an interesting NCAA Tournament bubble thought project.
No. 11 BYU (13-13, 4-11; Last Ranking: No. 10)
The Cougars snagged a nice win last weekend against Oklahoma State. Can they hang around .500 long enough to get into the WBIT or the WNIT/
No. 12 Kansas (15-11, 5-10; Last Ranking: No. 12)
It’s been a great year for sophomore S’mya Nichols. But it’s been a step back for the Jayhawks in most other respects. But a WBIT or WNIT bid is certainly possible.
No. 13 Texas Tech (14-14, 3-12; Last Ranking: No. 13)
The Lady Raiders still haven’t made it back to the NCAA Tournament under Krista Gerlich and it’s highly unlikely to happen in her fifth season. She thought she had the right mix of long-time starters and transfers, too.
No. 14 UCF (9-16, 2-13; Last Ranking: No. 14)
It’s fair to say the Knights still have work to do under coach Sytia Messer. But they have won two of their last six games.
No. 15 Arizona State (8-19, 2-13; Last Ranking: No. 16)
Coach Natasha Adair is in her third year and deserves more time to get things moving in the right direction in Tempe. But the program’s second year in the Big 12 will need to be better than this.
No. 16 Houston (5-21, 1-14; Last Ranking: No. 15)
Coach Ronald Hughey may pay the price for what may be the program’s worst season since 2015-16 (6-24). Without an NCAA Tournament berth in his 11 seasons, along with a new athletic director, it’s fair to wonder if this is it.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
