Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings

Ariel Puterman gives his week 13 Big 12 basketball power rankings.

Matchup of the week: Kansas vs. Kansas State

Sneaky good matchup of the week: Oklahoma State vs TCU

All game times are listed in EST.

1) Iowa State Cyclones

Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)

Record: 15-5 (6-2)

Last week: #7 Kansas State (W) 80-76, @Missouri (L) 61-78

Next week: @Texas Tech (Jan 30 – 9 PM), #8 Kansas (Feb 4 – 12 PM)

Best wins: Kansas State, Texas, @ TCU, North Carolina, Baylor, St. John’s, @Oklahoma

Worst losses: N/A

Iowa State claims the throne in the Big 12 basketball power rankings thanks to their big home win against Kansas State. They also got blown out by Missouri on the road, but the win against Kansas State holds more significance for the Cyclones. Jaren Holmes was the man of the week, leading the team in scoring in both games, and will look to continue his scoring streak this week on the road against a Texas Tech team who are still searching for their first Big 12 win, then a Kansas team looking to get back on track after their three-game skid.

2) Kansas State Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-1)

Record: 18-3 (6-2)

Last week: @#13 Iowa State (L) 76-80, Florida (W) 64-50

Next week: @#8 Kansas (Jan 31 – 8 PM), #10 Texas (Feb 4 – 4 PM)

Best wins: Kansas, @ Texas, @ Baylor, LSU, Florida

Worst losses: @Butler

Kansas State lost their second straight Big 12 road game, but fought to the finish against Iowa State. They then handled Florida at home in a game that felt like much more than a 14 point win. This was an important game for Keyontae Johnson, who was a star at Florida before Kansas State. The Wildcats have a big week ahead, taking on two top 10 opponents, starting with a rematch of one of the better games this year, but this time at Allen Fieldhouse, then a game at home against a Texas team that they scored 116 points against in regulation.

3) Baylor Bears

Last week’s ranking: 6 (+3)

Record: 16-5 (5-3)

Last week: #8 Kansas (W) 75-69, Arkansas (W) 67-64

Next week: @#10 Texas (Jan 30 – 9 PM), Texas Tech (Feb 4 – 1 PM)

Best wins: Kansas, UCLA, Gonzaga, @ Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas

Worst losses: N/A

After an 0-3 start, Baylor has now won 5 in a row and are looking more and more like the Scott Drew Baylor teams we’ve grown acquainted with the past few years. The three-headed guard monster of LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, and Keyonte George are all peaking at the right time, taking turns leading the team in scoring. While they do have five losses, all five losses are against teams ranked in the Top 15 in the AP Poll at the moment. They’ll have a chance to pick up another ranked win on Monday when they travel to Austin for a Big Monday showdown against Texas.

4) Texas Longhorns

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-1)

Record: 17-4 (6-2)

Last week: Oklahoma State (W) 89-75, @#2 Tennessee (L) 71-82

Next week: #11 Baylor (Jan 30 – 9 PM), @#7 Kansas State (Feb 4 – 4 PM_

Best wins: Gonzaga, TCU, Creighton, @ Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (2x), West Virginia

Worst losses: N/A

Texas continues to win the games they’re supposed to and lose the ones they aren’t, going 1-1 on the week with a home win against unranked Oklahoma State followed by a road loss to a ranked Tennessee team. They only have one ranked conference win so far in a conference that has five ranked teams, not including themselves, and they’ll have a great chance to add to that this week with two big-time matchups against Baylor and Kansas State.

5) Kansas Jayhawks

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-)

Record: 17-4 (5-3)

Last week: @#11 Baylor (L) 69-75, @Kentucky (W) 77-68

Next week: #7 Kansas State (Jan 31 – 8 PM), @#13 Iowa State (Feb 4 – 12 PM)

Best wins: Iowa State, Duke, Wisconsin, @ Missouri, NC State, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky

Worst losses: N/A

Kansas currently is sitting on a three-game conference losing streak, something we rarely see in the Bill Self era. Luckily, they were able to pull off a resume win and hopefully get things back on track in Rupp Arena on Saturday. The schedule takes no breaks, with another brutal week ahead against the top two teams in the Big 12 basketball power rankings. Kansas desperately wants revenge on their rivals in the first one, then a win on the road against Iowa State would cement the Jayhawks as a title threat once again.

6) TCU Horned Frogs

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-2)

Record: 16-5 (5-3)

Last week: Oklahoma (W) 79-52, @Mississippi State (L) 74-81 OT

Next week: West Virginia (Jan 31 – 9 PM), @Oklahoma State (Feb 4 – 2 PM)

Best wins: @ Kansas, Kansas State, Providence, Iowa, @ Baylor, Oklahoma, @ Utah

Worst losses: Northwestern State

Wins and losses aside, the most important thing on TCU’s mind is the health of Mike Miles. Miles, TCU’s star player went down in the first half with a hyperextended knee injury. Luckily, this injury is not season-ending, but the timetable for his return is unknown at the moment. TCU has already gotten hit hard by the injury bug this season, and will hopefully make it out of this week with a 2-0 record against two of the Big 12 teams that are not in the Top 25.

7) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)

Record: 12-9 (3-5)

Last week: @#10 Texas (L) 75-89, Ole Miss (W) 82-60

Next week: @Oklahoma (Feb 1 – 9 PM), #15 TCU (Feb 4 – 2 PM)

Best wins: Iowa State, Oklahoma, West Virginia

Worst losses: Southern Illinois

Oklahoma State is 3-1 in their past two weeks, but unless they taking down the ranked Big 12 opponents, it might be for nothing. They’ll have a good chance on Saturday against TCU most likely without Mike Miles. The 22 point win against Ole Miss shows how good of a team they are and that they would be a lot higher ranked if they were in another conference, but the gauntlet doesn’t stop and they need to start improving their resume with February looming.

8) Oklahoma Sooners

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)

Record: 12-9 (2-6)

Last week: @#15 TCU (L) 52-79, #4 Alabama (W) 93-69

Next week: Oklahoma State (Feb 1 – 9 PM), @West Virginia (Feb 4 – 8 PM)

Best wins: Alabama, Seton Hall, West Virginia, Ole Miss, Florida

Worst losses: Sam Houston State

I don’t think there was a team in all of Division I that had two results more opposite than Oklahoma’s this week. They started off by traveling to TCU and getting pummeled, scoring only 52 points and extending their losing streak to 3 games. They then welcomed Alabama, who at the time was arguably the best team in the country, and destroyed them by 24.

That win will go a long way on Selection Sunday, but if they want to get off the bubble they’ll need to start piling on some conference wins, and there’s no better way to do that than a rematch against their in-state rivals, and one of the two teams lower than them on the Big 12 basketball power rankings.

9) West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)

Record: 13-8 (2-6)

Last week: @Texas Tech (W) 76-61, #25 Auburn (W) 80-77

Next week: @#15 TCU (Jan 31 – 9 PM), Oklahoma (Feb 4 – 8 PM)

Best wins: TCU, Auburn, Pittsburgh, Florida, UAB

Worst losses: N/A

Surprisingly, West Virginia was one of the two teams to go 2-0 this week in the Big 12, joining Baylor. This is a good team who got off to a rough start in Big 12 play, and it feels like if they have any opportunity to gain momentum and make an end-of-season push, it’s now. They can start that off against a banged-up TCU team, then an Oklahoma team in a similar position to them in West Virginia. Watch out for Erik Stevenson, who couldn’t miss on Saturday in his 31-point performance.

10) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)

Record: 11-10 (0-8)

Last week: West Virginia (L) 61-76, @LSU (W) 76-68

Next week: #13 Iowa State (Jan 30 – 9 PM), @#11 Baylor (Feb 4 – 1 PM)

Best wins: LSU, Georgetown, Louisiana Tech, Nicholls

Worst losses: N/A

Texas Tech picked up its first win of 2023, beating LSU on the road. They still remain without a Big 12 win, and it feels like they are playing with less intensity recently. Their first five Big 12 games were decided by six or less points in four of those. Since then, each game has been decided by seven or more. It doesn’t get any easier, as they’ll have to play Iowa State and Baylor this week, and still have four more ranked matchups after that.


Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 12

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 11

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 10

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 9

Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 7

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

2 thoughts on “2022-23 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 13”

Comments are closed.