The Big 12 men’s basketball season is now six games into league action and, for the first time in more than a month, we have a new No. 1 team.
In fact, the Big 12 has just one remaining undefeated team in league action, and that’s the Houston Cougars, who aren’t getting as much national publicity as Iowa State or Kansas, but they’re playing some of the best basketball in the nation.
We saw a tremendous amount of reshuffling this week, due in part of the Iowa State loss, but also to several results in the middle of the conference, the heart of which will determine if the league gets seven or eight teams in the field. That’s how the conference appears to be trending right now.
Our Heartland College Sports men’s power rankings will come out every Monday until we get to the conference tournament in Kansas City. We’re a day late this week, as the league went dark for the College Football Playoff national championship game.
As we focus on four teams each week, we’re going to focus on the remaining four of the “Hateful Eight” — Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
Let’s dig in.
No. 1 Houston (14-3, 6-0; Last Ranking: 2)
No. 2 West Virginia (13-4, 4-2; Last Ranking: No. 4)
Much has been written about how impressive Iowa State has been this season. But Darian DeVries has flipped the Mountaineers into a NCAA Tournament team in less than a year. And he’s done much of that without his son, Tucker, who is out with an injury.
WVU has beaten Gonzaga and Arizona on a neutral floor, beaten Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse (for the first time in program history) and taken down Iowa State. Guard Javon Small is having an all-America level season. The Mountaineers have manufactured an interior game, something they have truly struggled with in recent years. And, as always, there’s that WVU toughness, which DeVries has now infused with a more efficient offense.
This team only gets better when Tucker DeVries returns. It would take an epic collapse for the Mountaineers to miss March Madness.
No. 3 Iowa State (15-2, 5-1; Last Ranking: 1)
No. 4 Kansas (13-4, 4-2, Last Ranking: 5)
No. 5 Texas Tech (13-4, 4-2; Last Ranking: No. 7)
I’m trying to figure out how the Red Raiders lost at home in the opener to UCF. It must have been the layoff at Christmas. Since then, they’ve won four league games and lost to Iowa State by a point in overtime.
Texas Tech is still a great defensive team. But, unlike both Mark Adams and Chris Beard, second-year coach Grant McCasland has managed to cultivate a balanced offense that doesn’t require low scoring games for the Red Raiders to win. Offensively, this group is more explosive than any Tech team I’ve seen.
Forward JT Toppin is Tech’s best interior presence in years. Guard Chance McMillan can destroy teams from the arc single-handedly. Elijah Hawkins is the best point guard no one is talking about. The Red Raiders can play with anyone in this league and, frankly, anyone in the country.
No. 6 Arizona (11-6, 5-1; Last Ranking: No. 3)
No. 7 TCU (10-7, 3-3; Last Ranking: No. 8)
The Horned Frogs needed that win over Baylor. But TCU has been alternating between wins and losses for three weeks and they need a streak.
Since Frankie Collins suffered his season-ending injury against Vanderbilt, TCU has been trying to establish a different identity. But losing a player of Collins’ immense talent makes that a tough task. Guards Noah Reynolds, Vasean Allette and Brendan Wenzel are forming a solid trio. Center Ernest Udeh Jr. is having his most consistent season ever. Forward Trazarien White is setting himself up for a big second half.
But, to get on the NCAA Tournament bubble the Horned Frogs need a run, or at minimum an impressive win or two. Beating Baylor isn’t quite as impressive as it used to be.
No. 8 UCF (12-6, 3-3; Last Ranking: No. 10)
No. 9 Cincinnati (12-5, 2-4; Last Ranking: No. 11)
No. 10 Baylor (11-6, 3-3; Last Ranking: 6)
No. 11 Utah (11-6, 3-3; Last Ranking: No. 13)
No. 12 BYU (10-6, 2-4; Last Ranking: No. 12)
No. 13 Oklahoma State (10-7, 2-4; Last Ranking: No. 15)
I’m not sure I thought Oklahoma State would still have a winning record this deep into January. So, give credit to Steve Lutz in his first season. He has this team trending the right way. There’s consistency in effort, but not outcome. All four league losses are by double digits. Still, I could see this team giving opponents fits in February.
Scoring is still an issue. If the Cowboys still had Small — he transferred to WVU after last season — this would be a much different team. But the trio of Abou Ousmane, Marchelus Avery and Bryce Thompson are giving OSU balanced scoring, but only combine for 35 points per game.
Five other players averaged six points per game. Lutz would probably love to see one of them get closer to double figures and give the Cowboys another consistent threat.
No. 14 Kansas State (7-10, 1-5; Last Ranking: No. 14)
No. 15 Arizona State (10-7, 1-5; Last Ranking: No. 9)
No. 16 Colorado (9-8, 0-6; Last Ranking: No. 16)
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
