Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 15 of the 2023-24 season.
Matchup of the week: Kansas at Texas Tech (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: TCU at Kansas State (Feb. 17 – 12 p.m.)
All games listed are EST
1) Iowa State Cyclones
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 18-5 (7-3)
Last week: W at Texas (70-65), W vs. TCU (71-59)
Next week: at Cincinnati (Feb. 13 – 7 p.m.), at #23 Texas Tech (Feb. 17 – Noon)
Quality wins: Kansas, Houston, TCU (x2), at Texas
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 2 seed (Matty Brackets) 3 seed (CBS Sports), 4 seed (ESPN)
This Iowa State doesn’t get nearly enough credit for the work they’re doing this season. In just the last six games, they are 5-1 with wins over Kansas, TCU (twice), Kansas State, and at Texas. Their only loss during that time was the buzzer-beater three against Baylor by Momcilovic that was seconds late. That resume alone is better than most of the top 25’s season resumes.
They don’t lose at home, and they have very balanced scoring. They don’t need to rely on one player for their scoring needs, as Gilbert, Momcilovic, and King have been the scoring leaders in the past three games. As I mentioned, they don’t lose at home, but they will not be there at all this week as they go on back-to-back road games, starting at Cincinnati before heading to Texas Tech for a terrific Saturday showdown.
2) Houston Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)
Record: 21-3 (8-3)
Last week: W vs. Oklahoma State (79-63), W at Cincinnati (67-62)
Next week: vs. Texas (Feb. 17 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: at BYU, Dayton, Texas Tech, at Texas, Texas A&M, Utah, at Cincinnati
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 1 seed (Matty Brackets, CBS Sports, ESPN)
Houston picked up another 2-0 week in Big 12 play, the third time they’ve done so, and sit directly at the top of the Big 12 standings. Jamal Shead responded nicely to his poor performance against Kansas, scoring 23 against Oklahoma State and 16 against Cincinnati (although on 6-25 shooting). Defensively, they’re still a nightmare, and now they’ll get a full week of rest before facing Texas, looking to sweep them after the exciting road overtime win a few weeks back.
3) Kansas Jayhawks
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-1)
Record: 19-5 (7-4)
Last week: L at Kansas State (70-75) OT, W vs. #13 Baylor (64-61)
Next week: at Texas Tech (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.), at Oklahoma (Feb. 17 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: UConn, Houston, Tennessee, Baylor, Kentucky, TCU, Oklahoma, at Indiana
Bad losses: at UCF, at West Virginia
Seed projection: 2 seed (ESPN, CBS Sports), 3 seed (Matty Brackets)
The difference between this Jayhawk team at home vs on the road is pretty remarkable. At home, they’ve been unstoppable, beating UConn, Houston, and now Baylor, and haven’t lost there yet. On the road, it looks like anyone can beat them, as they are now 1-4 in conference play with their latest defeat to Kansas State. This team is very banged up right now, with Kevin McCullar missing the Baylor game and Dajuan Harris hobbling towards the finish. Having the game against Texas Tech on Monday is not ideal, but if they power through this week, then they get a full week in between games to recover.
The depth is still a huge issue, and while Nicholas Timberlake did hit two threes, he was a huge liability for them and Elmarko Jackson was nonexistent on offense during the Baylor game. At the end of the day, as long as they have their four guys on the court, they can go up against anyone, but if they continue to lose on the road, and they have two of said games this week, then they can slide lower and lower down brackets and rankings.
4) Baylor Bears
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 17-6 (6-4)
Last week: W vs. #23 Texas Tech (79-73), L at Kansas (61-64)
Next week: vs. #25 Oklahoma (Feb. 13 – 9 p.m.), at West Virginia (Feb. 17 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Iowa State, Auburn, BYU, Texas Tech, Florida, Seton Hall, Cincinnati
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 3 seed (CBS Sports), 4 seed (Matty Brackets, ESPN)
Baylor had a massive opportunity to go 2-0 on the week and pick up two top-25 wins. They handled the first with ease, using a strong second half to beat Texas Tech. They had a great chance to beat Kansas, especially when Kevin McCullar Jr. was ruled out. It looked like they were going to suffer a road loss, but they came storming back, and had two wide-open three attempts to send the game to overtime, but couldn’t convert.
This Baylor team is good, but they haven’t really had that impressive conference win that can show that this team can go deep in the tournament. BYU at home by nine is probably their top win right now in conference play, but they’ll have plenty more chances in the upcoming weeks to earn that signature win.
5) Oklahoma Sooners
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+5)
Record: 18-6 (6-5)
Last week: W vs. #21 BYU (82-66), W vs. Oklahoma State (66-62)
Next week: at #13 Baylor (Feb. 13 – 9 p.m.), vs. #6 Kansas (Feb. 17 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Iowa State, at Cincinnati, BYU, Providence
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 6 seed (Matty Brackets, ESPN, CBS)
After starting 3-4 in conference play, the Sooners are back above .500 with three wins in their past four games, including a 2-0 week. They absolutely dominated BYU, and seem to be as balanced as they’ve been in a while. Things could get ugly soon, as four of their next five games are against the teams ahead of them in the power rankings.
6) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 17-6 (6-4)
Last week: L at #13 Baylor (73-79), W vs. UCF (66-59)
Next week: vs. #6 Kansas (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.), at #10 Iowa State (Feb. 17 – Noon)
Quality wins: at Oklahoma, at Texas, BYU, Kansas State
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 7 seed (Matty Brackets, ESPN), 9 seed (CBS)
Texas Tech stopped its three-game slide on Saturday with a win against UCF at home. Pop Isaacs really struggled this week, averaging 9 points per game on 6-25 shooting. They’ll need him to be better this week because it’s the toughest of the season. They’ll start with a home game against Kansas with just 48 hours of rest before heading to another top-10 opponent this weekend in Iowa State.
7) TCU Horned Frogs
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-2)
Record: 16-7 (5-5)
Last week: L at #14 Iowa State (59-71)
Next week: vs. West Virginia (Feb. 12 – 8 p.m.), at Kansas State (Feb. 17 – Noon)
Quality wins: at Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech, Oklahoma
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 7 seed (Matty Brackets), 9 seed (ESPN, CBS)
Only one good for TCU this week, and it wasn’t a good one, with the final score being a double-digit loss for the Horned Frogs. Last time TCU won two straight they rattled off three straight wins. They have a great opportunity this week, facing West Virginia, who haven’t won a road game this season, at home, then Kansas State on the road.
8) BYU Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)
Record: 17-6 (5-5)
Last week: L at Oklahoma (66-82), W vs. Kansas State (72-66)
Next week: vs. UCF (Feb. 13 – 9 p.m.), at Oklahoma State (Feb. 17 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Iowa State, San Diego State, Texas, NC State
Bad losses: N/A
Seed projection: 5 seed (CBS, Matty Brackets), 6 seed (ESPN)
A 1-1 week for the Cougars, doing the typically win at home and loss on the road. Having Aly Khalifa back was huge for BYU and a big reason why they beat Kansas State. BYU hasn’t been above .500 in conference play this season, and they don’t have a better opportunity to change that than this week when they take on UCF and Oklahoma State.
9) Texas Longhorns
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-1)
Record: 16-8 (5-6)
Last week: L vs. #14 Iowa State (65-70), W vs. West Virginia (94-58)
Next week: at #3 Houston (Feb. 17 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: Baylor, at TCU, at Oklahoma, at Cincinnati
Bad losses: at West Virginia, UCF
Seed projection: 7 seed (ESPN), 8 seed (Matty Brackets), 11 seed (CBS)
Texas has looked so much better as of late, but they still don’t have the record to back it. They dropped a huge home game against Iowa State, but at least they responded nicely, crushing West Virginia. Dylan Disu was unbelievable, averaging 27.5 PPG in the two games, including scoring 14 straight points for Texas in the Iowa State game to keep it close. Texas has arguably their biggest game of the season, facing Houston on the road.
10) Cincinnati Bearcats
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-1)
Record: 15-8 (4-6)
Last week: L vs. #5 Houston (62-67)
Next week: vs. #10 Iowa State (Feb. 13 – 7 p.m.), at UCF (Feb 17 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at BYU, at Texas Tech, TCU
Bad losses: at West Virginia
Seed projection: 11 seed (Matty Brackets), Last Team In (ESPN), First Four Out (CBS)
Cincinnati is as on the bubble as it gets, and every game is so important for them right now. Their resume is underwhelming, so they’ll need to take advantage of being in the Big 12 and pick up some quality wins soon. Iowa State at home is their toughest home game remaining this season, and probably their best opportunity to knock them out of the bubble and into the field. They’ll need everyone on their A-game, and Dan Skillings is going to have to be a star.
11) Kansas State Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+1)
Record: 15-9 (5-6)
Last week: W vs. #4 Kansas (75-70) OT, L at #21 BYU (66-72)
Next week: vs. TCU (Feb. 17 – Noon)
Quality wins: Kansas, Baylor, Providence, Villanova
Bad losses: at Oklahoma State
Seed Projections: Next Four Out (Matty Brackets), OUT (ESPN, CBS)
Kansas State has now dropped five of their last six, but they did win the one that’s been circled on their calendars for months, and that’s beating Kansas at home. Kansas State should just try to go to overtime every game because they don’t lose. They are now 11-0 in overtime games under Tang, one of the most impressive stats in all of college basketball. They still have tournament aspirations, but some things going to have to change soon. They only play one game against a currently ranked team in their next five, so hopefully that’s what they need to finish the season strong.
12) UCF Knights
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 13-9 (4-6)
Last week: L at #23 Texas Tech (59-66)
Next week: at #19 BYU (Feb. 13 – 9:00 p.m), vs. Cincinnati (Feb. 17 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas, at Texas, Oklahoma
Bad losses: Stetson
Seed Projection: Next Four Out (Matty Brackets), OUT (ESPN, CBS)
Like many of the teams towards the bottom, they are struggling as of late. UCF has dropped three of the last four, and are looking more like the team that was supposed to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 rather than a tournament team. UCF are just 1-5 on the road this season and need to earn some more to get that tournament opportunity. Doing so against BYU would be massive, and they hope they can win the two battles of new Big 12 teams this week.
13) West Virginia Mountaineers
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 8-15 (3-7)
Last week: L at Texas (58-94)
Next week: at TCU (Feb. 12 – 8 p.m.), vs. #12 Baylor (Feb. 17 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas, Texas, Cincinnati
Bad losses: Monmouth, UMass
Seed Projections: OUT (Matty Brackets, ESPN, CBS)
After a week of rest, you’d think West Virginia would come out with a spark right? Nope, they lost by 36 to Texas. West Virginia fans can’t wait for this nightmare to be over, and it probably won’t be much better this week, as they’ll face two good teams in TCU and Baylor.
14) Oklahoma State Cowboys
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)
Record: 10-14 (2-9)
Last week: L at #5 Houston (63-79), L at Oklahoma (62-66)
Next week: vs. #19 BYU (Feb. 17 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Abilene Christian, Southern Illinois
Seed Projections: OUT (Matty Brackets, ESPN, CBS)
Like West Virginia, this team can’t wait for this to be over. Hopefully, the freshmen are developing, and Javon Small is still putting up good numbers. Just seven more games Pokes, hang in there.
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