2023-24 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 4

Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 4 of the 2023 season.

Matchup of the week: Kansas vs UConn

Sneaky good matchup of the week: Texas Tech @ Butler

All games listed are EST

1) Houston Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)

Record: 7-0

Last week: W vs. Montana (79-44)

Next week: at Xavier (Dec. 1 – 6:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Dayton, Utah

Bad losses: N/A

Houston continues to dominate. They beat Montana by 35 and held them to just 44 points. They’ve only allowed more than 60 points once this season and have won each game by double digits. However, none of these have been against ranked opponents. Houston will have their toughest matchup of the season on Friday when they take on Xavier on the road. Look out for LJ Cryer, who has scored 18 or more points in four of the past five games.

2) BYU Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 4 (+2)

Record: 6-0

Last week: W vs. Arizona State (77-49), W vs. NC State (95-86)

Next week: vs. Fresno State (Dec. 1 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: San Diego State, Arizona State, NC State

Bad losses: N/A

It might sound truly insane to have BYU ranked #2 so far this season, but they have been truly exceptional this season. They took on two Power 6 opponents last week, and handled both with ease, including a 28-point victory against Arizona State. Their depth continues to show, having a different leading scorer in five of the six games, and they have snuck into the top 10 in KenPom. Remember, this team was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12. Up next is a matchup against Fresno State, a team coming off a rough feast week.

3) Kansas Jayhawks

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-2)

Record: 5-1

Last week: W vs. Chaminade (83-56), L vs. #4 Marquette (73-59), W vs. #7 Tennessee (69-50)

Next week: vs. Eastern Illinois (Nov. 28 – 8 p.m.), vs. #5 UConn (Dec. 1 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: Tennessee, Kentucky

Bad losses: N/A

Kansas has two wins against top 25 teams this season. The rest of the Big 12 has two. They finished 2-1 in the Maui Invitational, including a big win against Tennessee. On a team with huge questions of depth, Jamari McDowell has been putting in good minutes for them, a big relief for the Jayhawks. However, you can’t ignore the Marquette game. They were completely outplayed from start to finish, and McCullar and Dickinson were the only players that really showed up. They really need to see more from DaJuan Harris, and the bench needs to step up.

The brutal schedule continues this week, taking on defending champions UConn at Allen Fieldhouse this week.

4) Baylor Bears

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-1)

Record: 6-0

Last week: W vs. Oregon State (88-72), W vs. Florida (95-91)

Next week: vs. Nicholls (Nov. 28 – 8 p.m.), vs. Northwestern State (Dec. 2 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: Florida, Auburn

Bad losses: N/A

Baylor continues to win, taking home the NIT Season Tip-Off championship. They had to beat a borderline Top-25 Florida Gators team in order to do so, and are now 2-0 against the SEC this season. They are piling up these wins, but haven’t looked super dominant in doing so. Both those wins against SEC schools are by under 10, and neither is a top-25 opponent. We will have to wait to see how Baylor performs against this type of opponent for a few weeks, and this week should be a breeze for the Bears.

5) Oklahoma Sooners

Last week’s ranking: 6 (+1)

Record: 6-0

Last week: W vs. Iowa (79-67), W vs. #23 USC (72-70)

Next week: Arkansas Pine-Bluff (Nov. 30 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: #23 USC, Iowa

Bad losses: N/A

If we picked a winner of the week, Oklahoma would 100% get that award. After a pretty easy schedule to start the season, this was a “prove it” week for Oklahoma, and boy, did they prove it. They started with a double-digit win against Iowa, a team that nearly beat Creighton on the road and will be a future tournament team. Then, they pulled off the win against USC on a last-second putback by Otega Oweh. The biggest reason for their success is their depth. They have eight really solid players, and Porter Moser is using each to their highest potential.

6) TCU Horned Frogs

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-)

Record: 5-0

Last week: W vs. Alcorn State (93-74)

Next week: vs. Houston Christian (Nov. 27 – 8 p.m.), at Georgetown (Dec. 2 – 5:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

TCU has cruised so far this season, playing a schedule ranked as the easiest in the country. That’s right, of the 362 teams in college basketball, no one has had an easier season than TCU. So, there isn’t much to take away from them. There still won’t be much after this week, but they do play their first power conference opponent on Saturday, taking on Georgetown on the road.

7) Texas Longhorns

Last week’s ranking: 8 (+1)

Record: 5-1

Last week: L vs. #5 UConn (81-71), W vs. Wyoming (86-63)

Next week: vs. Texas State (Nov. 30 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

Texas didn’t stand a chance against UConn without Kadin Shedrick and Dylan Disu. Dillon Mitchell looks great in that game, which will excite many Longhorn fans. At the moment, their best win is against Louisville, which isn’t saying much. That’ll change not this week, but next when they take on Marquette on the road.

8) Cincinnati Bearcats

Last week’s ranking: 9 (+1)

Record: 5-0

Last week: W vs. Georgia Tech (89-54)

Next week: at Howard (Nov 28 – 7 p.m.), vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 3 – 1 p.m.)

Quality wins: Georgia Tech

Bad losses: N/A

The Bearcats have looked terrific so far this season, most recently destroying Georgia Tech at home. They’re getting even better too after Aziz Bendaogo’s waiver was cleared. Bedaogo, who many consider their best player, was originally denied, but with his presence, they become extremely dominant on the defensive end. They play two mid-major opponents this week, which should both be wins.

9) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-1)

Record: 5-1

Last week: L vs. Villanova (85-69), W vs. Northern Iowa (72-70), W vs. Michigan (73-57)

Next week: at Butler (Nov. 30 – 6:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Michigan, Northern Iowa

Bad losses: N/A

This was looking like it was going to be a bad week for the Red Raiders after a double-digit loss to Villanova and a nine-point halftime deficit to Northern Iowa. However, they bounced back nicely, beating Northern Iowa and then dominating Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis. This team still has tournament potential, and we will get an even better idea next week when they face Butler on the road.

10) Kansas State Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 11 (+1)

Record: 4-2

Last week: W vs. Central Arkansas (100-56)

Next week: Oral Roberts (Nov 28 – 8 p.m.), North Alabama (Dec 2 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: Providence

Bad losses: N/A

Scoring 100 points is always impressive, so kudos to Kansas State for doing so in a game. Next week, they’ll have a chance to do so again against two lower opponents. Kaluma is looking like he’s starting to settle in, scoring 18 or more in the past three games, including a team-leading 20 in their last victory.

11) Iowa State Cyclones

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-6)

Record: 5-2

Last week: W vs. VCU (68-64), L vs. Virginia Tech (71-62), L vs. #12 Texas A&M (73-69)

Next week: at DePaul (Dec 1 – 8:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: VCU

Bad losses: N/A

Like Oklahoma, this was their week to prove it, and they did the exact opposite. They started by barely beating VCU, a team they were projected to beat by double digits. Then, they got dominated by a good, not great Virginia Tech team. Losing by only four to Texas A&M may seem good, but they were extremely undermanned, and Iowa State blew a ten-point halftime lead against them. This week leaves a lot of questions, most notably on defense after allowing 70+ in back-to-back games. They’ll have a chance to get back on track this week against Depaul, the worst Power 6 team.

12) West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week’s ranking: 13 (+1)

Record: 3-3

Last week: L vs. SMU (70-58), L vs. #24 Virginia (56-54), W vs. Bellarmine (62-58)

Next week: vs. St. Johns (Dec 1 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Monmouth

West Virginia went 1-2 last week and still moved up a spot. This was due to their near upset against Virginia. This is Jesse Edwards’ team, and they are starting to realize that more and more and feeding him as much as possible. In all three games last week, he led the team in points and rebounds. They are getting closer to Kerr Kriisa coming back, and while they’re not going to be a top-five team in the Big 12, maybe they can crack the top 10. They face St. Johns this week a game they shouldn’t win.

13) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week’s ranking: 14 (+1)

Record: 3-3

Last week: W vs. New Orleans (96-68), W vs. Houston Christian (92-65)

Next week: vs. #8 Creighton (Nov 30 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Abilene Christian, Notre Dame

Oklahoma State beat up on the bad teams this week, as they should. Hopefully, that gives them some confidence heading into next week when they face Creighton at home. The season is still young, so a home win would be huge for the Cowboys, but based on what we’ve seen so far this season, don’t expect much from them.

14) UCF Knights

Last week’s ranking: 12 (-2)

Record: 4-2

Last week: W vs. Charlotte (74-71 OT), L vs. Stetson (85-82)

Next week: vs. Lipscomb (Dec 2 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Stetson

UCF should have gone 2-0 with ease this week to improve their record to 5-1, and instead nearly went 0-2. There is a clear bottom three in the Big 12, and UCF is one of them. Lipscomb falls into the same category as the two teams they played this week, so they’ll need to step it up if they want to be ready for Big 12 play, which is slowly approaching.

Week 3 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings

Week 2 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings