While the Big 12 women have started conference action, the men must wait until the New Year to get things started. But, boy, they look ready.
The conference went 6-1 on Saturday, which included Houston beating Arkansas in Newark while Texas Tech rallied from double digits to defeat Duke. It was the final crescendo before the holiday season, as many of the men’s teams will get a week off and one more game in before the league openers.
As a reminder, 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. This will be our last men’s power rankings until January.
Tier 1
1. Arizona (11-0) (Last Ranking: 1)
2. Iowa State (12-0) (Last Ranking: 2)
3. Houston (11-1) (Last Ranking: 3)
4. BYU (11-1) (Last Ranking: 4)
No changes here and no reason to change it. Arizona and Iowa State are undefeated. Houston has won five straight, and BYU has won eight straight. BYU is the only one of the quartet with just one Top 25 win. But the Cougars are eighth in NET and have three Quad 1 wins already. Plus, BYU is getting reinforcements?
Personally, I don’t believe G League players should be eligible for college basketball, but I’m not making rules. So, this means BYU has the potential to be even better by March.
Houston is getting overlooked nationally, which is unreal considering how good it’s been the past few years. Yes, they have a lot of young players. But Kingston Flemings is doing stuff like this.
These four teams have separated themselves from the pack in this conference going into league play. I’m not saying it’s a chasm. I’m just saying that, right now, there’s separation.
Tier 2
5. Texas Tech (9-3) (Last Ranking: 6)
6. Oklahoma State (11-1) (Last Ranking: 5)
7. Kansas (9-3) (Last Ranking: 7)
8. Baylor (9-2) (Last Ranking: 8)
Another steady tier. The Red Raiders’ win over the Blue Devils moved them up a spot over OSU, which finally suffered its first loss, which was to Oklahoma last weekend. Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland was on his team about its defense a week ago. The win over Duke doesn’t fix everything. But a high-level win like that over a team like Duke on a neutral court feels like a statement that the Red Raiders will be highly competitive in March.
Kansas feels like it’s turned some things around, but the health issues of Darryn Peterson are lingering over this team. He’s been dogged by a hamstring issue and quad cramping. The good news is Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. have both gathered steam offensively in his absence. Baylor might be the quietest 9-2 in the country. But I’m not sure if that’s a good quiet or a bad quiet. I’ll likely be at their Big 12 opener at TCU, so we’ll learn more then.
Tier 3
10. UCF (10-1) (Last Ranking: 9)
9. Colorado (10-2) (Last Ranking: 10)
11. Arizona State (9-4) (Last Ranking: 11)
12. Kansas State (8-4) (Last Ranking: 12)
A minor flip between UCF and Colorado as the Knights are riding a nine-game winning streak, the longest aside from the two remaining undefeated teams. Their 12-point loss to Vandy, which was 105-93, doesn’t look nearly as bad as the Commodores keep racking up wins. The balance on this team is intriguing, and I’m eager to see the Knights go up against Kansas in the Big 12 opener. Colorado’s lack of scheduling Top 25 teams is starting to show.
Arizona State also intrigues me. The Sun Devils’ four losses are to power conference teams. The Sun Devils also have wins over Oklahoma, Washington State, and Texas. ASU is off until the opener against Colorado on Jan. 3. Lots of time for coach Bobby Hurley to ponder whether his team has the goods to get to March Madness.
Tier 4
13. TCU (9-3) (Last Ranking: 13)
14. West Virginia (8-4) (Last Ranking: 14)
15. Cincinnati (7-5) (Last Ranking: 15)
16. Utah (8-4) (Last Ranking: 16)
TCU seems to have righted the ship, but I have concerns about how they’re handling things at home, where the Horned Frogs are 6-3 and have lost to a mid-major. Cincinnati got Jizzle James back this week, which was a surprise to just about everyone outside of Cincinnati. How he impacts the Bearcats’ fortunes this season won’t be easy to assess until January.
