The Big 12 women’s basketball season is now at the halfway point of the schedule and it’s time to assess where the 16 teams stand in this week’s power rankings.
Kansas State and Iowa State wrapped up the mid-week games, as the Wildcats were able to outlast the Cyclones in overtime in front of a raucous crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.
Our Heartland College Sports women’s power rankings will come out every Friday until we get to the conference tournament in Kansas City.
Each week we spotlight four teams. This week we’ll spotlight the two most surprising teams and the two most disappointing teams relative to the Big 12 preseason rankings.
Let’s dig in.
No. 1 Kansas State (20-2, 8-1; Last Ranking: No. 1)
No. 2 TCU (20-2, 8-1; Last Ranking: No. 3)
No. 3 Oklahoma State (18-3, 8-2; Last Ranking: No. 2)
The Cowgirls are by far the most surprising team relative to the preseason rankings, as the coaches had OSU at No. 11.
OSU has impressive league wins over Iowa State, Baylor (on the road), West Virginia and TCU. It’s more than enough to get the Cowgirls into the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Two more ranked teams await in the next two games (at West Virginia, home against Kansas State).
Guard Stailee Heard is one of the league’s most dynamic players, averaging 17 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. But center Tenin Magassa has been a huge boost after losing Hannah Gusters to the transfer portal. She’s averaging 8.0 points and 5.2 rebounds.
No. 4 Baylor (17-5, 7-2; Last Ranking: No. 4)
No. 5 West Virginia (16-4, 6-3; Last Ranking: No. 5)
No. 6 Utah (15-5, 6-3; Last Ranking: No. 6)
No. 7 Iowa State (15-8, 6-4; Last Ranking: No. 7)
The Cyclones have experienced the biggest drop relative to the preseason poll, as they were selected No. 2 by the coaches. That’s a five-spot drop.
Iowa State’s losses include South Carolina, Iowa, UConn, Oklahoma State, Utah, West Virginia and Kansas State. On the one hand, the Cyclones have played a tough schedule. On the other, a win in one of those games would really help their NCAA Tournament resume.
Center Audi Crooks (22.2 ppg), forward Addy Brown (14.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and guard Emily Ryan (9.2 ppg, 6.5 apg) are having fine seasons. But I think this team misses guard Kenzie Hare, who was averaging 8.3 points before an injury ended her season. It robbed them of valuable depth.
No. 8 Arizona (14-8, 5-4; Last Ranking: No. 8)
No. 9 Colorado (14-6, 5-4; Last Ranking: No. 10)
No. 10 Cincinnati (13-6, 5-4; Last Ranking: No. 12)
The Bearcats were picked No. 13 in the preseason poll and I think they’re a dark horse to wreak havoc on the field trying to win the Big 12. Cincinnati has won four of its last five, including a win over Colorado.
But a gauntlet is coming in February. Cincinnati faces Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Utah and West Virginia twice. The Big 12 schedule-makers gave Cincinnati no wiggle room.
Forward Jillian Hayes (16.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg) has been terrific all season. Guard Tineya Hylton (14.1 ppg) has produced offensively. The depth is the concern. Only eight players log 10 or more minutes per game. A couple of well-placed upsets could really change the overall race.
No. 11 Texas Tech (14-9, 3-7; Last Ranking: No. 9)
No. 12 Kansas (14-7, 4-6; Last Ranking: No. 11)
The Jayhawks were picked No. 8 in preseason, so it’s a four-spot drop. On one level, Kansas knew life without the super-seniors would bring growing pains. That has been the case since Big 12 play began, as they only put together a winning streak in the past week.
S’Mya Nichols has been excellent (20.7 ppg) and Elle Evans has been a nice running buddy (14 ppg). Both are shooting a terrific percentage from behind the arc. But the rest of the lineup as been inconsistent. If Nichols and Evans aren’t firing, it’s hard to win.
No. 13 Arizona State (8-14, 2-8; Last Ranking: No. 13)
No. 14 BYU (10-10, 1-8; Last Ranking: No. 14)
No. 15 Houston (5-16, 1-9; Last Ranking: No. 15)
No. 16 UCF (7-12, 0-9; Last Ranking: No. 16)
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
