Six games remain until the Big 12 women’s basketball regular season ends and they head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament.
Six games remain to determine who will win the Big 12 regular season title, which four teams will get the Big 12 Tournament double byes, and which four teams will get the Big 12 Tournament single byes.
The three weeks ahead are going to be fun, especially for one team that will have to run a gauntlet to get the No. 1 seed.
Here are this week’s power rankings.
Tier 1
1. West Virginia (21-4, 10-2) — (Last ranking: 1)
2. Baylor (20-5, 10-3) — (Last ranking: 2)
3. Texas Tech (22-3, 9-3) — (Last ranking: 3)
4. TCU (21-4, 9-3) — (Last ranking: 4)
It’s a weird tier this week because it’s unchanged, even with TCU’s last-second loss to Colorado in Boulder. I think it’s clear there isn’t as much distance between TCU and the rest of the league as there was a year ago. Had the game been a blowout, I would have flipped the two. But I still think the Horned Frogs are a Top 4 team and Colorado is just outside that. But it’s a slim gap.
WVU remains at the top, followed by Baylor. Remember the Bears have the gauntlet coming up. They have three ranked games the next three weeks, starting with TCU on Thursday.
Also, all four of these teams have won 20 games. Per my research, that makes them a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
Tier 2
5. Colorado (16-8, 7-5) — (Last ranking: 6)
6. Iowa State (19-5, 7-5) — (Last ranking: 7)
7. Oklahoma State (19-6, 8-4) — (Last ranking: 5)
8. Utah (16-8, 7-5) — (Last ranking: 9)
Colorado gets a boost for beating TCU and winning four of their last five games. Iowa State gets a boost for winning their last five games. The Cowgirls fall a bit after splitting the week, including a loss to Arizona State. Utah moves up one spot after splitting the week, including a loss to Iowa State.
This is a group that is probably going to continue to split games weekly for the rest of the regular season. ISU and OSU are locked in on getting that 20th win before the Big 12 Tournament. I’m intrigued to see if either Colorado or Utah can get there. They play each other the next-to-last game of the regular season.
Tier 3
9. Arizona State (19-6, 6-6) — (Last ranking: 11)
10. Kansas (15-10, 5-8) — (Last ranking: 12)
11. Kansas State (13-12, 6-6) — (Last ranking: 10)
12. BYU (16-8, 5-7) — (Last ranking: 8)
BYU is picking a really bad time to lose games. The Cougars lost both last week and the remaining six games are worrisome. All but Cincinnati is above them in these power rankings. The Cougars need four wins to get to 20 before Kansas City.
Arizona State is one win away from reaching 20 wins and being secure in reaching the NCAA Tournament. Even though the Sun Devils split the week, they’re on an uptick and I’m looking forward to Saturday’s Territorial Cup game in person in Tucson.
Kansas is on a two-game winning streak and really needs to win out to have any shot at the NCAA Tournament. Same for Kansas State, which upended BYU this weekend.
Tier 4
13. Cincinnati (8-16, 3-9) — (Last ranking: 13)
14. UCF (10-13, 2-10) — (Last ranking: 14)
15. Arizona (11-12, 2-10) — (Last ranking: 15)
16. Houston (7-16, 1-11) — (Last ranking: 16)
No changes here. These teams are practically locked into the bottom four seeds of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City next month. Of the four teams here, looking ahead to next year, I’m most interested in seeing how Arizona could take a jump in 2026-27. I think Becky Burke has a great foundation in place. She just needs more talent.
