Conference play is underway in Big 12 country as all 14 teams took the field this past weekend. Even though it is early in the year; I thought it would be fun to start things off with a little power ranking each week.
Keep in mind, things can change quickly in the Big 12 from week to week but here is my power ranking after opening weekend in conference action.
#1 UCF Knights
The UCF Knights were the only team this past weekend who went 3-0. UCF completed an impressive three game sweep over Oklahoma State which included to one run games to start and end the weekend. I know the Knights got off to a rocky start, but they have now won eight out of their last nine games.
#2 Arizona State
While Arizona State didn’t sweep like UCF did, they arguably had the best weekend out of anyone in the Big 12. After dropping the opener against TCU, they followed that up with back-to-back wins where they outscored the Frogs 19 to 8 and neither game was close. It’s not easy knocking off the top dog in the Big 12 but what an outstanding job by this Arizona State team.
#3 West Virginia Mountaineers
You could make a case to push the Mountaineers up but being number three is nothing to be ashamed of. West Virginia took two out of three from Baylor in Waco and absolutely dominated the Bears in the final two games of the series which included a run rule victory on Saturday.
#4 Texas Tech Red Raiders
While Texas Tech had a rough start to the year, they have turned things around fairly quickly. They have won three weekend series in a row now after beating a good Kansas team in Lubbock this past weekend. Even though they were blown out on Sunday, they managed to put 21 runs on the board in their first two games.
#5 Kansas State Wildcats
Beating Houston won’t make people look twice at Kansas State but I was very impressed after seeing their first two games in the series. The Wildcats outscored the Cougars 36 to 9 in the first two matchups before things turned in Houston’s favor. Offense was certainly not in question down in the Bayou City.
#6 Utah Utes
The past two weeks have been great for the Utes. They swept Grand Canyon in a four-game series and now are fresh off a big series win over Arizona. Utah lost game one but followed that up with two close victories over the Wildcats at home. I know it’s early, but Ilike what I see from this Utah team.
#7 BYU Cougars
Even though their record is sitting at .500 overall, the Cougars got off to a nice start in Big 12 play with a series win over Cincinnati. BYU split the first two games before clinching the series in a rubber match on Saturday. That was much needed after a rough weekend against Cal Baptist the week before.
#8 TCU Horned Frogs
I know the weekend didn’t go as planned but TCU is still the most talented team from top to bottom in the Big 12. You could put them at number one, and I wouldn’t argue but in a power ranking, winning the weekend matters and they simply fell short against a good Arizona State team on the road. Don’t worry, this team will be fine.
#9 Kansas Jayhawks
There’s no shame at all losing to Texas Tech in Lubbock because that is one of the toughest places to play in the entire Big 12. The problem for Kansas was that the bats showed up but the arms did not because they gave up way too many runs this past weekend.
#10 Arizona Wildcats
Losing eight of your first nine games of the year is brutal but I thought things would turn around after their performance in Vegas a couple of weeks ago but maybe I was wrong. I didn’t have Arizona dropping a series to Utah on my bingo card.
#11 Cincinnati Bearcats
Prior to their series against BYU, the Bearcats had won 11 out of their last 12 games. They were one of the hottest teams in the Big 12 but that all came to an end this past weekend in Provo where they dropped two out of three.
#12 Baylor Bears
While it was nice to get a win over West Virginia, the other two games went horribly for the Bears. Baylor was run ruled on Saturday and then lost 8-0 on Sunday to wrap things up. It was not a great way to end the weekend.
#13 Houston Cougars
Much like Baylor, Houston was able to win a game in their series. In fact, the game they did end up winning, they won by ten runs. However, in the other two games they were outscored 36 to 9. Ouch.
#14 Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys were the only team in the Big 12 that got swept. Oklahoma State headed to Orlando this past weekend to face UCF and lost all three games. While two of them were close, it’s not good when you can’t at least take one game from the series.
