The calendar has turned to 2026 and for Big 12 men’s basketball that means that we finally have conference action.
For the next two-plus months, the best conference in college basketball will beat up on each other. The “best” is not subjective. It’s objective. Among the power conferences, the Big 12 had the best record against the other power conference by a significant edge. After the first round of games, 15 of the 16 teams were in the Top 100 of NCAA Net.
The first weekend of league action was wall-to-wall. Saturday included seven games on five networks and if you have YouTube TV like I do, then the multi-view got a workout. Three games were decided by six points or less, with another decided by seven points, which doesn’t tell anyone how close that game really was.
Now that we’re into conference action, I’ll do power rankings each week for men and for women. I’ll continue to rank by tiers, but I reserve the right to expand and contract tiers when I feel there is a clear line between one group of teams and the next.
Finally, after a weekend in front of the TV, I’ll be on the road next weekend. Iowa State, I’m coming to you for the men’s game with Oklahoma State and the women’s game with West Virginia. It’s my first trip to Hilton. I can’t wait to experience it.
Tier 1
1. Arizona (14-0, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 1)
2. Iowa State (14-0, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 2)
Just two teams on one tier? Yep. I think it’s clear that the Wildcats and Cyclones are the two best teams in the league right now and there’s enough separation to set them apart from the rest for now. Arizona has six players in double figures for the season and are as well-balanced as any team in college basketball.
Iowa State has five players averaging double figures and is getting incredible seasons from Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic. Both had career games on Friday. But Blake Buchanan is giving off Michael Jacobson vibes and Cyclone fans know what that means. Freshman Jamarion Batemon is going to be a great back-half of the season player for ISU.
Tier 2
3. Houston (13-1, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 3)
4. BYU (13-1, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 4)
5. Texas Tech (11-3, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 5)
I’m not amenable to dropping Houston from No. 3 yet. Yes, the Cougars struggled in the first half against Cincinnati. But Milos Uzan stepped up huge in the second half, as did some key members of the team that are going to be vital in February and beyond. JoJo Tugler looks like himself after having his wisdom teeth removed. But Emanuel Sharp does need to get it going consistently.
BYU coach Kevin Young can’t be happy about the turnovers against Kansas State. But the Cougars managed a 10-point win on the road at Kansas State, a good start to a high-expectation conference season.
Texas Tech moves up a tier. My last power rankings were before the Duke win, so I knew they were going to move up. How they dominated Oklahoma State — a team that had lost just one game to that point — was impressive. I left out in my takes piece that Christian Anderson had another incredible game with 19 points and a career-high 13 assists.
This is the line for national title contenders. The five teams above have the capability.
Tier 3
6. UCF (12-1, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 10)
7. TCU (11-3, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 13)
8. Colorado (11-3, 1-0) (Last Ranking: 9)
For now, we’ll tier the other three teams that won openers on Saturday. UCF had the most impressive win, taking down Kansas at home for the second time in three years. I was impressed with how balanced the Knights were offensively and how they handled big moments in the final four minutes. That’s where UCF has buckled in the past. The Knights didn’t this time around. It’s a good omen as I projected the Knights to make the NCAA Tournament.
TCU defused the James Nnadi hype machine and beat rival Baylor at home. TCU only won by six points, but it was a balanced approach on offense coupled with a great game from the 3-point line. If their play is this consistent in league action, they can muck some things up for the contenders.
Colorado gets a bump after beating Arizona State on the road. The Buffs only move up one because between power rankings they absorbed a bad loss to Northern Colorado at home. It was their first Big 12 road win since 2011 (not a typo) and the Buffs are not a team that should be sent to the free-throw line. Colorado went 32-of-38 from the line on Saturday.
Tier 4
9. Kansas (10-4, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 7)
10. Oklahoma State (12-2, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 6)
11. Baylor (10-3, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 8)
12. Arizona State (9-5, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 11)
13. Kansas State (9-5, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 12)
14. Cincinnati (8-6, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 15)
Kansas drops two spots after the loss to UCF. The Jayhawks are only a national championship contender if they have a healthy Darryn Peterson who can play 30+ minutes per game. He scored 26 points in 23 minutes, and coach Bill Self said he was on a minutes restriction. We’ll see if he builds on that in the next game. With Peterson, Kansas has a quality starting five. But the depth beyond that is questionable.
Oklahoma State took a hard loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock. But, by game’s end two players had 20 or more points and I think their up-tempo approach will work in the Big 12. The defense is the question. That was OSU’s first game against a ranked team. I anticipate improvement when the Cowboys face Iowa State next weekend.
I’m not feeling great about Baylor right now. There’s a reason coach Scott Drew signed Nnadi. The Bears need help inside. This team hasn’t rounded into the type of Bears teams we’re used to. But their solid non-conference record gives them a little runway to figure it out.
Arizona State, Kansas State and Cincinnati all showed me something in their games on Saturday. All three played tough games down to the final minutes. All were at home, too. I’m eager to see how they play in their first league road games. These are three teams that I identified as non-NCAA Tournament teams based on my data project I published last week. If they want their shot, they’ve got to get moving.
Tier 5
15. West Virginia (9-5, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 15)
16. Utah (8-6, 0-1) (Last Ranking: 16)
Both were blown out in their openers. How Honor Huff adjusts to how Big 12 players will defend him is going to be key to whether the Mountaineers are competitive or not. Utah is the only Big 12 team outside of the top 100 in NCAA NET. The Utes were dominated by Arizona. January is going to be tough for this team.
