There are six games left in the Big 12 Men’s basketball regular season, and there is still so much left to play for.
The margins are getting thinner, contenders are falling and rising, and while there is plenty of chaos to go around, there are some teams who are as steady as the day is long.
As it turns out, the steadiest teams in the Big 12 are also among the very best teams in the nation, as is shown in the latest version of the AP Poll.
Houston (21-4, 13-1 Big 12) kept rolling with a 62-58 win at Arizona this weekend and pit itself one step closer to winning back-to-back regular season Big 12 titles, and moved up one spot to No. 5 in this week’s poll.
Iowa State (20-5, 10-4 Big 12) moved up two spots to No. 8 in this week’s poll after going 2-0 on the week, including an 81-70 win over Cincinnati on Saturday. The Cyclones have topped 80 points in two of their last three and appear to be back to themselves with Milan Momcilovic back in the lineup.
Texas Tech (20-5, 11-3 Big 12) was the Big 12’s biggest riser this week, up three spots to No. 9 after a 93-55 blowout of Oklahoma State and a 111-106 shootout at Arizona State. JT Toppin is playing like a man possessed down the stretch, and appears to have the Red Raiders making their case for a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It wasn’t all good news for the Big 12, however, as the league saw two of its bigger programs plummet in the rankings. After winning 11 their first 12 games in conference play, Arizona (17-8, 11-3 Big 12) went 0-2 last week with a three-point loss at Kansas State and a four-point home loss to Houston. The Wildcats fell six spots to No. 19 and will play at Baylor on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Kansas (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) kept its rollercoaster act going, with a 71-59 win over Colorado followed by a 74-67 loss to Utah. The Jayhawks haven’t won consecutive games since January 22 are 5-5 in their last 10, and are 10-8 since the start of December.
