We’ve reached our first Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings for the 2025-26 season. After six days of games, we have our first look at all 16 teams.
Combined, the conference has lost three games, but only one team has a regrettable loss to a mid-major program. The conference had six ranked teams to start the season. It could be that many on Monday, perhaps more, depending upon how voters assess the week.
In non-conference, power rankings will appear every other week as we alternate between the men and the women. In conference play, we’ll do them each week. I’m ranking by tiers, as I did last year. For now, we’ll use four tiers, though they’re less meaningful after one week than they will be in January and February.
This isn’t about projecting to March. This is about right now. Admittedly, we don’t know much after just one week. So, let’s do the best we can with limited data.
Tier 1
1. Arizona (2-0)
2. BYU (2-0)
3. Houston (2-0)
4. Iowa State (2-0)
Arizona scored the best win of the week with the victory over Florida in Las Vegas, and had the best debut of the week in the same game with Koa Peat. BYU’s win over Villanova was a solid start to the campaign, with A.J. Dybansta showing off a complete game. Both Arizona and BYU looked ahead of where they were after a week last year, likely a product of multiple exhibition games.
Houston and Iowa State did not play high majors last week, but played well in both games. The Cougars are working through new rotations and gave top freshman Chris Cenac plenty of run. ISU’s Justin Jefferson put on a solid showcase against Towson. Both teams get high-major showdowns this week.
Tier 2
5. Texas Tech (2-0)
6. Baylor (2-0)
7. Oklahoma State (2-0)
8. West Virginia (3-0)
Texas Tech played a game without forward JT Toppin, and he returned to drop a double-double on Sam Houston. The Red Raiders get Illinois on Tuesday, and that will give us a better barometer for where they’re at. Baylor claimed a high-major win at home over Washington on Sunday. The Bears looked awfully balanced.
Oklahoma State scored a huge win over Texas A&M and did it without Brandon Roy. I’m not sure the Cowboys can sustain it, but that’s a great win and deserving, for now, of being on this tier. West Virginia made nice work out of a three-game week with new coach Ross Hodge leaning on his former North Texas stars. Pitt and Clemson are coming in the next three games. That should be a reality check.
Tier 3
9. Kansas (1-1)
10. Cincinnati (2-0)
11. Arizona State (2-0)
13. Kansas State (2-0)
Kansas went to North Carolina and lost. It exposes flaws in their frontcourt. But freshman Darryn Peterson is as advertised. But one player isn’t going to carry that team. The rest of the group is a bit mysterious. All of them went undefeated, but didn’t play a high-major team. Many of them have high-major opponents coming up this week, so we’ll know more when we re-rank in a couple of weeks.
Tier 4
13. Utah (2-0)
14. Colorado (2-0)
15. UCF (1-1)
16. TCU (1-1)
Colorado was undefeated for the week but needed 102 points to beat Eastern Washington. Not a great look in the first week. That’s why they’re a bit behind Utah right now.
UCF and TCU both lost, but at least the Knights lost to a high-major team, Vanderbilt. TCU lost to New Orleans on opening night, a team that won four games last season. So, yes, for now the Horned Frogs bring up the rear.
