The Big 12 women’s basketball season has reached the stage where there more games behind than ahead. In fact, in less than a month, the conference tournament will start in Kansas City.
On the heels of one of the biggest games of the season to this point, the Kansas State Wildcats beat the TCU Horned Frogs in a contest that should have gotten much more exposure on TV than it received.
Meanwhile, there are a few teams trying to work their way into the NCAA Tournament and the next few weeks will be critical.
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’re just going to hit some random spots. Dealer’s choice.
Let’s dig in.
No. 1 Kansas State (22-2, 10-1; Last Ranking: No. 1)
The Wildcats have played four games without center Ayoka Lee and are 3-1, including wins in their last three games. That loss to Colorado hurts but bouncing back with wins over Iowa State and TCU certainly helps keep the Wildcats in contention for a home sub-regional in the NCAA Tournament.
At this point, K-State is a lock for the tournament. The only question is seeding. The Wildcats have two ranked games left against Oklahoma State this weekend and at West Virginia in a couple of weeks. Plus, the final week features games with Baylor and Iowa State. Lee might be back by then.
With seven more league games and three potential Big 12 Tournament games, a 30-win season before the NCAAs is on the table and that would be a program first. K-State won 29 games in 2002-03 under Deb Patterson.
You know what else is on the table? Serena Sundell, Big 12 player of the year. Chew on that for a bit.
No. 2 TCU (21-3, 9-2; Last Ranking: No. 2)
No. 3 Baylor (19-5, 9-2; Last Ranking: No. 4)
No. 4 West Virginia (18-4, 8-3; Last Ranking: No. 5)
The Mountaineers keep trucking along. WVU has won five of their last six games, with a recent victory over No. 25 Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers didn’t have a ranked win to that point and the victory avenged a loss to the Cowgirls in Stillwater earlier this season.
The Mountaineers have a roster filled with players that have multiple years of experience with WVU. The exception is Sydney Shaw, the Auburn transfer who has given the Mountaineers some serious scoring punch with 13.1 points per game. Then, add to that the play of freshman forward Jordan Thomas, who is averaging 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. That gives WVU six players that average more than six points per game. But guard JJ Quinerly still drives the bus, as she averages 19 points and 3.4 steals per game.
No. 5 Oklahoma State (18-4, 8-3; Last Ranking: No. 3)
No. 6 Utah (17-5, 8-3; Last Ranking: No. 6)
No. 7 Colorado (16-6, 7-4; Last Ranking: No. 9)
The Buffs are starting to make an intriguing case for the NCAA Tournament. CU has won its last four games, including that win over Kansas State and can also count a win over West Virginia earlier this season. A women’s bracketology update comes out on Friday at ESPN, but on Tuesday the Buffs were among the Next Four Out. My guess? CU will nudge onto the First Four Out line.
I see three games Colorado should be favored in down the stretch. The rest are against Iowa State, Utah, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Those are the swing games. Win two of those and Colorado is probably looking at a single bye at the Big 12 Tournament and, in my humble opinion, a real shot at March Madness once again.
No. 8 Iowa State (16-9, 7-5; Last Ranking: No. 7)
No. 9 Arizona (14-10, 5-6; Last Ranking: No. 8)
No. 10 BYU (12-10, 3-8; Last Ranking: No. 14)
The Cougars finally snapped their losing streak with back-to-back wins over Arizona State and UCF. But the next three games are likely going to decide whether BYU will play in the postseason or not.
Those next three games are against Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State. The Baylor and TCU games are on the road. Can the Cougars find a way to win one of those games?
If so, then I think it gets interesting. The two following games are against Arizona and Arizona State. BYU had every chance to beat Arizona earlier this season. After that the season ends at home against Kansas — a winnable game — and then the trip up the road to Salt Lake City against Utah.
Coach Amber Whiting has been able to get the Cougars into either the WNIT or the WBIT each of the last two seasons, both times at 16-16. Whiting had higher expectations this year, but there’s enough talent to be disruptive down the stretch — and to get to 16 or 17 wins before Kansas City.
No. 11 Cincinnati (13-8, 5-6; Last Ranking: No. 10)
No. 12 Kansas (14-9, 4-8; Last Ranking: No. 12)
No. 13 Texas Tech (14-11, 3-9; Last Ranking: No. 11)
No. 14 Arizona State (8-15, 2-9; Last Ranking: No. 13)
No. 15 UCF (8-13, 1-10; Last Ranking: No. 16)
No. 15 Houston (5-18, 1-11; Last Ranking: No. 15)
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
