2022-23 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 7

Ariel Puterman gives his week 7 Big 12 basketball power rankings.

Matchup of the week: Oklahoma vs. Florida

Sneaky good matchup of the week: TCU vs. Utah

All game times are listed in EST.

1) Kansas Jayhawks

Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)

Record: 10-1

Last week: #14 Indiana (W) 84-62

Next week: Harvard (Dec. 22 – 7 p.m.)

Best wins: Duke, Indiana, Wisconsin, NC State, Seton Hall, Missouri

Worst losses: N/A

Kansas absolutely destroyed Indiana at home, having control from start to finish. Since the Tennessee loss, Kansas has looked like a top 3 team in the country and they have no intentions of slowing down. They welcome Harvard this week in a light week for college basketball ahead of the holidays.

2) Texas Longhorns

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-1)

Record: 9-1

Last week: Rice (W) 87-81 (OT), Stanford (W) 72-62

Next week: Louisiana (Dec. 27 – 8 p.m.)

Best wins: Gonzaga, Creighton, Stanford

Worst losses: N/A

Texas had a week they were certainly not expecting, starting with the arrest of their head coach. Coach Beard will be suspended indefinitely, and the team certainly hasn’t looked the same in those two games since, barely beating a mediocre rice team followed by a 10-point win.

If Chris Beard is suspended for a long period of time or fired, which seems very possible based on the information we have been given, then this team will need to learn to adjust to the new coach, and perhaps this long holiday break will help with that.

3) TCU Horned Frogs

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)

Record: 8-1

Last week: Mississippi Valley State (W) 88-43

Next week: @ Utah (Dec. 21 – 9 p.m.)

Best wins: Iowa, Providence, SMU

Worst losses: Northwestern State

TCU remains hot, extending its win streak to six games. They don’t have many quality wins yet, but they’ll have an opportunity to add one this week when they play a great Utah team.

4) Baylor Bears

Last week’s ranking: 5 (+1)

Record: 7-2

Last week: Washington State (W) 65-59

Next week: Northwestern State (Dec 20 – 8 p.m.)

Best wins: Gonzaga, UCLA, Norfolk State

Worst losses: N/A

Baylor fought in a game they did not expect to be this close, and they certainly don’t look as dominant as they’ve been the past three years. They are still winning games, however, and with a pretty light schedule for everyone to rest up, they could enter the new year looking like a whole different team.

5) West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-)

Record: 8-2

Last week: Buffalo (W) 96-78

Next week: Stony Brook (Dec. 22 – 6 p.m.)

Best wins: UAB, Florida, Pittsburgh, Penn

Worst losses: N/A

West Virginia continues to get it done, defeating Buffalo by 18 points without starter Emmitt Matthews. This team plays hard and with a lot of fight, and that mentality will win them games in the Big 12 and potentially more.

6) Kansas State Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-)

Record: 10-1

Last week: Nebraska (W) 71-56

Next week: Radford (Dec. 21 – 2:30 p.m.)

Best wins: LSU, Nebraska, Nevada, Rhode Island, Wichita State

Worst losses: N/A

If you had Kansas State starting 10-1, there’s a good chance you are from the future. This team continues to impress. This time, they beat Nebraska pretty convincingly on a neutral court. Keyontae Johnson, Nae’Qwan Tomlin, and Markquis Nowell have formed a big three, and Kansas State is in a great position to enter Big 12 play with an 11-1 record.

7) Iowa State Cyclones

Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: Western Michigan (W) 73-57

Next week: Omaha (Dec. 21 – 7 p.m.)

Best wins: North Carolina, St. Johns, Villanova

Worst losses: N/A

Iowa State won an easy game and defensively looks terrific. It will be interesting to see how good they can be in the Big 12 and how high they can rise in the power rankings.

8) Oklahoma Sooners

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)

Record: 8-3

Last week: Central Arkansas (W) 87-66

Next week: Florida (Dec. 20 – 9:30 p.m.)

Best wins: Ole Miss, Seton Hall, Nebraska, UNCW

Worst losses: Sam Houston State

In a week where most Big 12 basketball teams get a buy game, Oklahoma gets a really tough test against a Florida team in need of additional resume wins. We still don’t really know how good Oklahoma is, so this game could be a good opportunity to get an idea of that.

9) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)

Record: 8-2

Last week: Eastern Washington (W) 77-70, Jackson State (W) 102-52

Next week: Houstan Christian (Dec 21 – 8 p.m.)

Best wins: Louisiana Tech, Georgetown, Texas Southern

Worst losses: N/A

Texas Tech had a weird week when injured center Fardaws Aimaq entered the transfer portal, then unentered the portal a few days later. It’s a good thing he’s still there because the Red Raiders are on a four-game win streak and they’ll only get better when he returns. Daniel Batcho stepped up this year and has solidified the front court. They should enter Big 12 play with ten wins.

10) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)

Record: 7-4

Last week: @Wichita State (W) 59-49

Next week: Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Dec. 20 – 3 p.m.)

Best wins: Wichita State, DePaul, Tulsa

Worst losses: Southern Illinois

Oklahoma State got its biggest win, winning on the road against Wichita State. If the season ended today, they are still arguably the only team in this conference that wouldn’t be in the NCAA Tournament, but they will have plenty of opportunities to change that in Big 12 basketball play.

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 6

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 5

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 4

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 3

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 2