Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 5 of the 2024 season.
Matchup of the week: Marquette vs Iowa State
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Saint Mary’s vs. Utah
All games listed are EST
1) Kansas Jayhawks
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 7-0
Last week: W vs. #11 Duke (75-72), W vs. Furman (86-51)
Next week: at #21 Creighton (Dec. 4 – 8:30 p.m.), at Missouri (Dec. 8 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: #11 Duke (Neutral), #12 UNC, Michigan State
Bad losses: N/A
The Jayhawks just keep on winning. They started the week with its biggest non-conference game, a test against Duke in Vegas, and found a way to win. They did it without Hunter Dickinson for a large chunk of the second half after he got ejected. Last year, they lost by 10 without Dickinson for that long, so the fact they ended up with the win shows how much better this team is now.
They also took care of a Furman team who came into the game 7-0. KJ Adams was unbelievable this season, and it seems like putting Storr in the starting lineup over Griffen is working. They have a huge week ahead, going back on the road and facing Creighton, who has struggled this season but is still a top-25 team at their best. After that, a road game against a Missouri team that wants nothing more than to beat their rivals.
2) Iowa State Cyclones
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+4)
Record: 5-1
Last week: L vs. #4 Auburn (81-83), W vs. Dayton (89-84), W vs. Colorado (99-71)
Next week: vs. #10 Marquette (Dec. 4 – 8 p.m.), vs. Jackson State (Dec. 8 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Dayton (Neutral)
Bad losses: N/A
We FINALLY got to see Iowa State play after just three games in the first three weeks, but they reminded everyone why they were a top 5 team in the country preseason. They looked terrific in the first half against Auburn, the best team in the country at this moment, going up by as many as 18 points. Unfortunately, they couldn’t hold on, but they have given Auburn its toughest test this season. They followed up with a nice win against a strong Dayton team, then blew out conference member Colorado to close things out.
We know Iowa State will bring the defense, but it’s been their offense that’s been exceptional. They’ve scored over 80 points in every game this season, and are 4th in KenPom offensive efficiency. They have an enormous matchup at home against Marquette this week. If they take care of business against a team that has looked like a top 5 team in the country so far, the conversations about Iowa State’s potential will start to ramp up.
3) Cincinnati Bearcats
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)
Record: 6-0
Last week: W vs. Alabama State (77-59)
Next week: at Villanova (Dec. 3 – 6:30 p.m), vs. Howard (Dec. 8 – 2 p.m)
Quality wins: at Georgia Tech
Bad losses: N/A
Cincinnati has somehow avoided any serious competition, opting not to play in an MTE while their conference opponents did. Perhaps the lack of competition will come back to bite them on Selection Sunday, but as long as they keep winning, you can’t fault them. They get a Villanova team that has really struggled this season and is desperate for a win against a team like Cincinnati to get its season back on track, so don’t be surprised if this game is closer than it should be.
4) Baylor Bears
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs. New Orleans (91-60)
Next week: at #2 UConn (Dec. 4 – 6:30 p.m)
Quality wins: #18 Arkansas (Neutral), #22 St. John’s (Neutral)
Bad losses: at #3 Gonzaga
After a tough week where they had to face two more ranked teams, things were a lot easier for the Bears, winning their only game of the week easily. Jayden Nunn had his best game of the season, scoring 23 points to lead all scorers.
The non-conference grind isn’t over though, and they’ll get their last big game before conference play. They’ll face the back-to-back defending champions UConn, who are coming off an 0-3 week in Maui and would love to remind everyone who they are and why they’ve won the last two championships. However, if Baylor wins, they’ll have wins against Arkansas, St. John’s, and UConn in the non-conference, a pretty impressive resume.
5) Arizona State Sun Devils
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)
Record: 7-1
Last week: W vs. New Mexico (85-82), W vs. Saint Mary’s (68-64)
Next week: vs. San Diego (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: Saint Mary’s (Neutral), Santa Clara (Neutral), Grand Canyon (Neutral), New Mexico, (Neutral)
Bad losses: N/A
Arizona State was the only Big 12 team to win its tournament, beating New Mexico and Saint Mary’s en route to the Acrisure Classic championship. These are two high-quality wins. New Mexico is a team capable of winning the Mountain West, and Saint Mary’s is easily the best team in the WCC besides Gonzaga.
This team won’t stop winning and is piling on big wins to their resume. The freshmen duo of Sanon and Quaintance continue to be incredible, and it seems like they’ll just continue to play to their opponent’s level. Up next, is a favorable matchup against San Diego.
6) Houston Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-4)
Record: 4-3
Last week: L vs. #9 Alabama (80-85 OT), W vs. Notre Dame (65-64), L vs. San Diego State (70-73 OT)
Next week: vs. Butler (Dec. 7 – 5:30 p.m)
Quality wins: Notre Dame (Neutral)
Bad losses: N/A
Last year, Houston lost its third game on February 3rd. The year before, March 12th. Before that, February 9th. The last time Houston lost its third game before January 1st was 2019-2020. That streak ended this year, after an overtime loss to San Diego State. They’ve hung close with these teams, but can’t close them, and that’s ultimately what’s been the difference maker.
Kelvin Sampson put it clearly, they don’t have “the guy”. In the past, it’s been Jamal Shead, Marcus Sasser, and Quentin Grimes. This year, there hasn’t been a clear one. It could be LJ Cryer, who scored 30 against Alabama and 21 vs. SDSU. It could also be Juwan Roberts, who led the team in back-to-back games with 17 and 23. Regardless of who it is, they need to step up soon if they want to compete for a Big 12 championship. They will very likely come out of non-conference play with their two resume wins being Notre Dame and Butler, a resume that most Big 12 teams can compete with, which isn’t a sign of a champion.
7) West Virginia Mountaineers
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+7)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs.#3 Gonzaga (86-78 OT), L vs. Louisville (70-79 OT), W vs. #24 Arizona (83-76 OT)
Next week: vs. Georgetown (Dec. 6 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: #3 Gonzaga (Neutral), #24 Arizona (Neutral)
Bad losses: N/A
Cardiac Mountaineers? West Virginia played three games this week, and all three went to overtime. They went 2-1, including a huge against Gonzaga, a team that many considered to be the best in the country, and a team that took care of business against Baylor and Arizona State. They then battled a good Lousiville team and ended with another big overtime win against a struggling Arizona team.
Javon Small has been tremendous for West Virginia, scoring, 31 against Gonzaga and 26 vs. Louisville. Tucker DeVries continues to be great as well. They have definitely looked the part since the ugly loss against Pittsburgh, and hopefully, they can continue momentum against a Georgetown team they should easily beat.
8) BYU Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-3)
Record: 6-1
Last week: L vs. #23 Ole Miss (85-96 OT), W vs. NC State (72-61)
Next week: at Providence (Dec. 3 – 8:30 p.m)
Quality wins: vs. NC State
Bad losses: N/A
BYU had a great chance to add a very quality win to their resume, leading Ole Miss by 4 with under 2 minutes left and by 2 with under 30 seconds left, but they couldn’t hold on and lost. Instead of a big-time matchup against Purdue, they faced a lowly NC State team, who they beat easily.
BYU is getting a nice mix of scoring, with three different leading scorers in the last three games and five total in the seven games. They have a big-time matchup in a tough road environment this week. This is one of the most even matchups we’ll see, so make sure you’re tuned in this Wednesday at 8:30 Eastern on FS1.
9) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-1)
Record: 6-1
Last week: W vs. Northern Colorado (89-64)
Next week: vs. DePaul (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.), vs. #20 Texas A&M (Dec. 8 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: Syracuse (Neutral)
Bad losses: N/A
After the disappointing 1-1 week prior, Texas Tech got back on track, cruising to a 25-point win against Northern Colorado. They have arguably the biggest week to date, facing a DePaul team that is surprisingly undefeated, then in-state rival Texas A&M. A 2-0 week would put A&M back on the map right before conference play kicks off.
10) UCF Knights
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+2)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. Milwaukee (84-76), W vs. Cal Baptist (74-59)
Next week: vs. Tarleton State (Dec. 8 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. #20 Texas A&M
Bad losses: N/A
UCF gets a 2-0 week, and you can’t be mad about that. They’d definitely like to see some more blowouts, but wins are wins. The Texas A&M win looks better and better every day, and as long as they keep winning these mid-major games, they’ll head into conference play 9-2. Have they looked like a team that can win the conference? Far from it, but they can win a couple of big games and sneak into the tournament the way they’ve played this season.
11) Utah Utes
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-2)
Record: 6-1
Last week: W vs. Mississippi Valley State (94-48), W vs. Eastern Washington (88-80)
Next week: vs. Saint Mary’s (Dec. 7 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Like Cincinnati, Utah opted out of Feast Week, taking on two mid-major opponents. The Mississippi Valley State game was a breeze, but they allowed Eastern Washington to hang around for a little too long. They have a huge matchup this week, facing Saint Mary’s, who would love a Big 12 win after failing to do so against Arizona State. They’ll need another big performance from Madsen, who averaged 27.5 PPG in the two wins this week.
12) Kansas State Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 16 (+4)
Record: 6-2
Last week: W vs. Longwood (80-64), W vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff (120-73)
Next week: at St. John’s (Dec. 7 – 11:30 a.m)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Liberty
It looks like Kansas State is heading back in the right direction after this week. A quiet week, taking on Longwood and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but two big wins nonetheless. Coleman Hawkins finally found his groove against Longwood, scoring 19 points and adding 10 rebounds. Then, Achor Achor had his best game as a Wildcat, scoring 21 points.
This week is extremely important for the Wildcats. It’s the biggest test since the LSU game and the first true road game of the season. Saint John’s is a great team that took Baylor to the wire, so if Kansas State can pick up the road win, things will look very encouraging for this team.
13) Arizona Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-2)
Record: 3-4
Last week: W vs. Davidson (104-71), L vs. Oklahoma (77-82), L vs. West Virginia (76-83 OT)
Next week: vs. Southern Utah (Dec. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Only one team in the Big 12 has a losing record, the Arizona Wildcats. They have not looked like the top 10 team that many thought they’d be in preseason, and are 0-4 in power conference games this season. Caleb Love hasn’t been consistent, and they haven’t had many other consistent scoring options. The defense has been abysmal as well, allowing 70 or more points in all three games this week.
Arizona has one more opportunity in the non-conference to get a big win, a neutral game vs UCLA. Hopefully for the Wildcats, a buy week against Southern Utah will get them back and track and they can address those mistakes.
14) Colorado Buffaloes
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-1)
Record: 5-2
Last week: L vs. Michigan State (56-72), W vs. #2 UConn (73-72), L vs. Iowa State (71-99)
Next week: None
Quality wins: #2 UConn (Neutral)
Bad losses: N/A
Colorado is probably the worst team in the Big 12, and the Michigan State and Iowa State games reflected that, but you have to give them a ton of credit for beating the two-time national champion UConn Huskies. Julian Hammond led the team in scoring all three games, and Jakimovski hit the game-winner against UConn. This team will probably get blown out a bunch in conference play, but don’t be surprised if they’re hanging tight with teams late into games this winter.
15) Oklahoma State Cowboys
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 4-2
Last week: None
Next week: at Tulsa (Dec. 4 – 8 p.m.), at Seton Hall (Dec. 8 – Noon)
Quality wins: Miami-Fla (Neutral)
Bad losses: FAU (Neutral)
Oklahoma State enjoyed a week off, now they’ll get back into action with two games this week. Tulsa is 1-4 in the last five, so Oklahoma State should take care of business. Then, they face Seton Hall, a team that has struggled mightily as well. The Miami win looks less impressive after their loss to Charleston Southern, but there is still positivity surrounding this team.
16) TCU Horned Frogs
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-6)
Record: 4-3
Last week: L vs. Santa Clara (52-69), L vs. Colorado State (72-76 OT)
Next week: vs. #22 Xavier (Dec. 5 – 8 p.m.) vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 8 – 12:30 p.m)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Santa Clara (Neutral), Colorado State (Neutral)
TCU played a tournament with themselves, Washington, Santa Clara, and Colorado State. They should have won, or at worst gone 1-1. Instead, they got destroyed by Santa Clara, then lost to Colorado State in overtime. This team is playing uninspired basketball, and the scoring is lacking. Only one player averages over ten a game, and as a team, they are shooting 28% from three.
Luckily, they have a couple of opportunities to right the ship this week. If they can go at least 1-1 against Xavier and Vanderbilt, the panic will die down, but another 0-2 week might mean a disastrous season ahead.
Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings Week 4