2023-24 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 14

Sneaky good matchup of the week: Houston at Cincinnati (Feb. 10 – 4 p.m.)

All games listed are EST

1) Iowa State Cyclones

Last week’s ranking: 3 (+2)

Record: 16-5 (5-3)

Last week: L at #18 Baylor (68-70)

Next week: at Texas (Feb. 6 – 8 p.m.), vs. TCU (Feb. 10 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: Kansas, Houston, at TCU, Iowa

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 3 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist), 4 seed (Matty Brackets, ESPN, CBS Sports)

Iowa State was about 0.2 seconds from beating Baylor on the road, as Milan Momcilovic’s three was just after the buzzer sounded. This team is very balanced, and disciplined, and never gets uncomfortable. However, they are quietly 1-3 on the road now, with their only win being by one at TCU. They still have a lot to prove, and they can do so by beating Texas on the road and then sweeping TCU on Saturday.

2) Kansas Jayhawks

Last week’s ranking: 5 (+3)

Record: 18-4 (6-3)

Last week: W vs. Oklahoma State (83-54), W vs. #4 Houston (78-65)

Next week: at Kansas State (Feb. 5 – 9 p.m.), vs. #13 Baylor (Feb. 10 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: UConn, Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky, TCU, Oklahoma, at Indiana

Bad losses: at UCF, at West Virginia

Seed projection: 2 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist, Matty Brackets, CBS Sports), 3 seed (ESPN)

The Kansas team we saw this week looked like the best team in the country. They were dominant on both ends of the floor and made both teams look more like D3 schools than Big 12 schools. They put up 78 points on Houston, by far the best team in the country defensively, and everyone in the starting five played up to their peak. Now, we know how much of an advantage Allen Fieldhouse gives, and this is just a bandaid on their road struggles.

This week is a big week for the team, as they travel to Manhattan, where the fanbase won’t be too kind. If they can win there, then take care of Baylor at home, it might be time to put Kansas back on the one seed line in your bracketology.

3) Houston Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-2)

Record: 19-3 (6-3)

Last week: W at Texas (76-72) OT at #8 Kansas (65-78)

Next week: vs. Oklahoma State (Feb. 6 – 7 p.m.), at Cincinnati (Feb. 6 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: at BYU, Dayton, Texas Tech, at Texas, Utah, Texas A&M

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 1 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist, Matty Brackets, CBS Sports, ESPN)

Houston looks far from the world beaters we saw the past two weeks. They barely escaped Texas on the road, then got destroyed by Kansas. The score might say they only lost by 13, but they should have lost by 25 if LJ Cryer didn’t get extremely hot late in the second half. Defensively, they allowed over 70 points in both games after not allowing it once the entire season. Houston only has back-to-back road games one more time this year, which is a relief and won’t come until March. No ranked matchups for Houston this week, with games against Oklahoma State and Cincy.

4) Baylor Bears

Last week’s ranking: 9 (+5)

Record: 16-5 (5-3)

Last week: W at UCF (77-69), W vs. #12 Iowa State (70-68)

Next week: vs. #23 Texas Tech (Feb. 6 – 9 p.m.), at #4 Kansas (Feb. 10 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: Iowa State, Auburn, BYU, Seton Hall, Florida, Cincinnati

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 3 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist, Matty Brackets), 5 seed (ESPN, CBS Sports)

As mentioned earlier, they were very fortunate that Momcilovic’s three was just late, but a win is a win. Plus they had to do it without their coach for a large portion of the game after Scott Drew was ejected for something 99% of coaches wouldn’t. Baylor has so many scoring threats, and this week those threats were Langston Love and RayJ Dennis.

The Big 12 gauntlet continues this week, facing Texas Tech at home before traveling to Lawrence. Big week ahead for the Bears

5) TCU Horned Frogs

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-1)

Record: 16-6 (5-4)

Last week: W vs. #15 Texas Tech (85-78), L vs. Texas (66-77)

Next week: at #14 Iowa State (Feb. 10 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech, Oklahoma

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 6 seed (CBS), 7 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist), 8 seed (ESPN), 10 seed (Matty Brackets)

TCU continued its hot streak, taking down Texas Tech with ease before dropping a surprising game against Texas at home. TCU had the opportunity to beat Texas but allowed them to pull away late. As you can tell, TCU is all over the place when it comes to bracketology, and they still need a few more quality wins to solidify their spot. They have their best the rest of the season on Saturday when they travel to Hilton in hopes of handing Iowa State their first home loss of the season.

6) BYU Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-)

Record: 16-5 (4-4)

Last week: W at West Virginia (86-73)

Next week: at Oklahoma (Feb. 6 – 8 p.m.), vs. Kansas State (Feb. 10 – 10 p.m.)

Quality wins: Iowa State, San Diego State, Texas, NC State

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 5 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist, Matty Brackets, ESPN), 7 seed (CBS)

BYU did what they needed to do, beating West Virginia on the road by double digits. Fousseyni Traore was terrific, scoring 24 points and adding nine rebounds. This team scores at a tremendous rate, and if they can perform like this on the road, then they have deep run potential in March. They have a pretty favorable stretch upcoming, so they can build momentum before their late conference gauntlet.

7) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)

Record: 16-5 (5-3)

Last week: L at #25 TCU (78-85), L vs. Cincinnati (72-75)

Next week: at #13 Baylor (Feb. 6 – 9 p.m.), vs. UCF (Feb. 10 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Oklahoma, at Texas, BYU, Kansas State

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 4 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist), 5 seed (CBS), 7 seed (Matty Brackets, ESPN)

Texas Tech is trending in the wrong direction in the Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings, going 0-2 this week with losses to TCU on the road and Cincinnati at home. One of the main issues is a lack of a secondary scoring option. In both games, Pop Isaacs scored 22+, but only one other player scored in double digits. That’s not how you win games, and this is something they’ll need to address. Hopefully, they can get back on track this week, going on the road against Baylor before being back home and facing UCF.

8) Texas Longhorns

Last week’s ranking: 10 (+2)

Record: 14-6 (4-5)

Last week: L vs #4 Houston (72-76) OT, W at #25 TCU (77-66)

Next week: vs. #14 Iowa State (Feb. 6 – 8 p.m.), vs. West Virginia (Feb. 10 – 3 p.m.)

Quality wins: Baylor, at TCU, at Oklahoma, at Cincinnati

Bad losses: at West Virginia, UCF

Seed projection: 9 seed (ESPN), 10 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist), 11 seed (Matty Brackets), OUT (CBS)

Texas had a rare week in which they lost the home game and won the road one, but this is probably the best they’ve looked all season. Disu is healthy, and Abmas has been terrific. If they can play at this level for the rest of the season, they should have no problem making the tournament. They still have many opportunities to boost their resume, but they must start soon, and a win against Iowa State this week would be a great way to do so.

9) Cincinnati Bearcats

Last week’s ranking: 7 (-2)

Record: 15-7 (4-5)

Last week: L at West Virginia (65-69), W at #15 Texas Tech (75-72)

Next week: vs. #5 Houston (Feb. 10 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: at BYU, at Texas Tech, TCU

Bad losses: at West Virginia

Seed projection: Last Four In (Waldo’s Watchlist),  First Four Out (Matty Brackets), Next Four Out (ESPN), OUT (CBS)

When you’re on the bubble, every game is so important, and Cincinnati helped and hurt themselves more than any team in the country. First, they dropped a game against West Virginia, a game you need to win to not hurt the resume. However, they bounced back nicely, beating Texas Tech on the road. All the games they play are close, and it seems like they just play to their level of competition. If they can beat Houston at home, that will be a long way in March, so mark it down as a must-win for the Bearcats.

10) Oklahoma Sooners

Last week’s ranking: 11 (+1)

Record: 16-6 (4-5)

Last week: W at Kansas State (73-53), L at UCF (63-74)

Next week: vs. #21 BYU (Feb. 6 – 8 p.m.), vs. Oklahoma State (Feb. 10 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: Iowa State, at Cincinnati, Providence, Iowa

Bad losses: N/A

Seed projection: 6 seed (Matty Brackets, ESPN), 7 seed (Waldo’s Watchlist), 8 seed (CBS)

Oklahoma has dropped three of its last four and is trending in the wrong direction. Luckily, they have a few good nonconference wins, but if they don’t pick it up, then they can quickly fall out. Otega Oweh needs to step up. Pre-conference play, he scored 15+ six times. Since conference play, zero. If he can get going, they can get back to the level of a top 10 team they once were. No better way to get back on track than a home win against BYU this week.

11) UCF Knights

Last week’s ranking: 12 (+1)

Record: 13-8 (4-5)

Last week: L vs. #18 Baylor (69-77), W vs. #23 Oklahoma (74-63)

Next week: at #23 Texas Tech (Feb. 10 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Kansas, at Texas, Oklahoma

Bad losses: Stetson

Seed Projection: Next Four Out (Matty Brackets), OUT (Waldo’s Watchlist, ESPN, CBS)

Before the season, the goal for UCF fans was to not finish last in the conference. Now, we are in a situation where they are just two games back of first with three big-time conference wins. They’re not in the field yet, but they’re not far out, and 2-3 more big wins can get them there. They can do it on Saturday on the road against Texas Tech. They are just 1-4 on the road this season, so Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers will need to put their team on their backs a few more times.

12) Kansas State Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-4)

Record: 14-8 (4-5)

Last week: L at #23 Oklahoma (53-73), L at Oklahoma State (72-75)

Next week: vs. #4 Kansas (Feb. 4 – 9 p.m.), at #21 BYU (Feb. 10 – 10 p.m.)

Quality wins: Baylor, Providence, Villanova

Bad losses: at Oklahoma State

Seed Projections: Last Four In (Matty Brackets), First Four Out (CBS), OUT (Waldo’s Watchlist, ESPN)

Kansas State is officially in free fall, drop four in a row now, including a 20-point loss at Oklahoma, and a loss against an Oklahoma State team with just one conference win previously. Tylor Perry needs to step up. He’s been terrible throughout Big 12 play and he is the key to their success. He was better this week, but still nowhere near what they need him to be. Perhaps a rivalry game can whip him into shape, as he’ll face the Jayhawks before heading to Provo.

13) West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)

Record: 8-14 (3-6)

Last week: W vs Cincinnati (69-65), L vs. #22 BYU (73-86)

Next week: at Texas (Feb. 10 – 3 p.m.)

Quality wins: Kansas, Texas, Cincinnati

Bad losses: Monmouth, UMass

Seed Projections: OUT (Waldo’s Watchlist, Matty Brackets, ESPN, CBS)

West Virginia is healthy now, with Jesse Edwards finally returning. They can stir the pot and win some games they’re not supposed to. We saw the first case with a win against Cincinnati. Every team from here on out has tournament aspirations, meaning that West Virginia can play spoiler to some. They’ve already beaten Texas once, so they are hoping to get the sweep on Saturday.

14) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)

Record: 10-12 (2-7)

Last week: L at #8 Kansas (54-83), W vs. Kansas State (75-72)

Next week: at #5 Houston (Feb. 6 – 7 p.m.), at Oklahoma (Feb. 10 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Abilene Christian, Southern Illinois

Seed Projections: OUT (Waldo’s Watchlist, Matty Brackets, ESPN, CBS)

Well, the good news is Oklahoma State is 2-1 in their last three games. The bad news? They’re still last in the conference. Oh, and it looks like Bryce Thompson might be out for the season, an upsetting development. The goal for the rest of the season should be to finish above .500. It seems unlikely, but hopefully they can win a few more games.

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