The Big 12 men’s basketball season is into league play and with two games done, it’s time for a new set of power rankings, the first of 2025.
The last power rankings were dropped on Dec. 23, which was right before Christmas Day and as the Big 12 was entering a long break. This past week saw the Big 12 play 16 games and each team play two games. It’s been an interesting start to say the least.
Starting this week, the men’s power rankings will appear every Monday here at Heartland College Sports until we get to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
The each we’re going to focus on the four teams that joined the Big 12 last year — BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston.
Let’s dig in.
No. 1 Iowa State (12-1, 2-0; Last Ranking: 1)
No. 2 Houston (10-3, 2-0; Last Ranking: 4)
Houston absolutely dominated BYU on Saturday, a bit unexpected given how well-regarded BYU was entering the Big 12 slate. But Houston has feasted to start with, beating BYU by 31 and beating Oklahoma State by 13.
The Cougars took some hits during non-conference because they played a pretty rigorous schedule. But I think all that really did was prepare them for the Big 12. Houston is still a defensive master class with terrific shooting guards and a tough set of players in the interior.
Houston’ top four guards shoot 37% or better from the 3-point line and three of them shoot better than 40%. If this unit stays healthy, it could go farther than last year’s Sweet 16 team led by Jamal Shead.
No. 3 West Virginia (11-2, 2-0; Last Ranking: No. 3)
No. 4 Arizona (8-5, 2-0; Last Ranking: No. 13)
No. 5 Kansas (10-3, 1-1, Last Ranking: 6)
No. 6 Cincinnati (10-3, 0-2; Last Ranking: No. 2)
I don’t want to punish Cincinnati too much after a road loss to Kansas State and a home loss to surging Arizona by a combined eight points. Of course, the Bearcats had to rally from a 19-point deficit at home to make things interesting with the Wildcats on Saturday.
The Bearcats will probably drop out of the Top 25 this week. That doesn’t mean they’ve been fooling us thus far. But it’s the Big 12 and, after two games, someone has to be winless.
Cincinnati showed some real grit in the Arizona comeback, even though it couldn’t finish the job.
If there’s one significant concern, it’s that guard Simas Lukosius has been held in check in the first two league games. He’s failed to hit double figures in his last three games. The Bearcats need him to get on track.
No. 7 Arizona State (10-3, 1-1; Last Ranking: No. 5)
No. 8 Texas Tech (10-3, 1-1; Last Ranking: No. 8)
No. 9 Baylor (9-4, 1-1; Last Ranking: 9)
No. 10 TCU (8-5, 1-1; Last Ranking: No. 14)
No. 11 Kansas State (7-6, 1-1; Last Ranking: No. 16)
No. 12 UCF (10-3, 1-1; Last Ranking: No. 11)
I know the Knights got absolutely rolled by Kansas on Sunday (99-48), but the Jayhawks had some family business to settle after being upset in Orlando last year. But don’t forget these Knights went into Lubbock and beat Texas Tech in the opener.
We also shouldn’t forget that guards Jaylin Sellers and Mikey Williams are still playing their way into shape after missing significant time due to injuries.
Williams had nine points against Kansas. Sellers moved into the starting lineup. As the pair get going, the Knights should be more consistent in the Big 12.
I worry about the interior game. UCF doesn’t have the depth it had there a season ago. We’ll see was league action continues.
No. 13 BYU (10-3, 1-1; Last Ranking: No. 12)
BYU’s loss to Houston was jarring, if we’re being honest. As I wrote in our takeaways from Saturday, I didn’t expect BYU to go in there and win. But losing by 31 points can end up being problematic if it’s not addressed properly.
The problem is the box score doesn’t really tell you much. Fifteen turnovers against Houston isn’t the end of the world. A 33% rate from 3-point range is the low end of what BYU wants, but again it’s not the end of the world. Houston shut down Egor Demin (three points) and that was probably the biggest issue for BYU, as it was unable to get its talented freshman on track.
The next two games, frankly, are key. BYU hosts Texas Tech and then travels to TCU. I’m interested in the quality of play in both games. It may give us an indication of which way BYU is going after this.
No. 14 Colorado (9-4, 0-2; Last Ranking: No. 7)
No. 15 Utah (8-5, 0-2; Last Ranking: No. 15)
No. 16 Oklahoma State (8-5, 0-2; Last Ranking: No. 12)
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
