2024-25 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 6

Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 6 of the 2024 season.

Matchup of the week: Florida vs. Arizona State (Dec. 14 – 3:30 p.m.)

Sneaky good matchup of the week: Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Dec. 14 – 8 p.m.)

All games listed are EST

1) Iowa State Cyclones

Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)

Record: 7-1

Last week: W vs. #5 Marquette (81-70), W vs. Jackson State (100-58)

Next week: at Iowa (Dec. 12 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Omaha (Dec. 15 – 1 p.m.)

Quality wins: #5 Marquette, Dayton (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

It feels like every Big 12 team has underperformed except Iowa State this year. Iowa State took on their second toughest opponent this season, Marquette, and pulled off the home victory. Keshon Gilbert is playing like an All-American, and the offense continues to be elite, something many weren’t expecting out of a team that has been defense-focused since Otzelberger came to town.

This week, a rivalry game with Iowa on the road. There’s no doubt that’ll be the most hostile environment, and how this team responds to that will tell a lot about this Iowa State team. If they can enter conference play 10-1, that would be more than ideal.

2) Arizona State Sun Devils

Last week’s ranking: 5 (+3)

Record: 8-1

Last week: W vs. San Diego (90-53)

Next week: vs. #13 Florida (Dec. 14 – 3:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Saint Mary’s (Neutral), Santa Clara (Neutral), Grand Canyon (Neutral), New Mexico (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

The analytics might not have Arizona State as the #2 team in the country, but with 4 quality wins and only one loss, plus the rest of the top of the Big 12 struggling, it’s hard to argue that they have a case for this spot. They had just one game last week, a 37-point win against San Diego. Sanon led the way once again with 19 points, while Quaintance grabbed 9 rebounds.

This week is the toughest game of the season to date. They’ll play Florida in Atlanta. If they can win that game, then they can enter conference play with five quality wins, ensuring an easier path in the Big 12 to make the NCAA Tournament.

3) Houston Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 2 (-4)

Record: 5-3

Last week: W vs. Butler (79-51)

Next week: vs. Troy (Dec. 10 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: Butler, Notre Dame (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

This is the Houston team we know and expect. After the poor showing at the Players Era, Houston looked dominant at home against Butler. The defense looked legit, and the offense was prevalent. This gives a lot of people confidence that they can still be the top 5 team that was expected as we near conference play.

This was the last power conference opponent they’ll face in the non-conference, so overall pretty disappointing non-conference performance. However, if they play like they did against Butler in conference play, the conference title is well within reach.

4) Kansas Jayhawks

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-3)

Record: 7-2

Last week: L at Creighton (63-76), L at Missouri (67-76)

Next week: vs. NC State (Dec. 14 – 3:15 p.m.)

Quality wins: #9 Duke (Neutral), #20 UNC, Michigan State

Bad losses: None

What a week it was for Kansas. Winning on the road in college basketball is arguably harder than any other sport, and that was proven by the Jayhawks this week. They started by losing by double digits against Creighton. In that game, they started off slow, kept it competitive in the second half, then allowed Creighton to pull away. Then, they went on the road and faced rival Missouri, and played horribly, turning the ball over at every opportunity and allowing them to get completely outplayed.

The defense hasn’t look great of late, and the shooting is a concern, which is already a huge issue when you play two non-shooting bigs at the same time. Coach Self will need to figure out the rotation and instill confidence in his shooters. Hopefully, getting back home will allow the guys to get comfortable again and figure things out.

5) West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)

Record: 6-2

Last week: W vs. Georgetown (73-60)

Next week: vs. NC Central (Dec. 10 – 7 p.m.), vs. Bethune Cookman (Dec. 14 – 5 p.m.)

Quality wins: #7 Gonzaga (Neutral), #24 Arizona (Neutral), Georgetown

Bad losses: None

The Mountaineers picked up another quality win (for now), beating Georgetown by 13. Javon Small continues to look amazing, scoring 26 points to lead all scorers. This week, two more buy games to boost the record.

6) Cincinnati Bearcats

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-3)

Record: 7-1

Last week: L at Villanova (60-68), W vs. Howard (84-67)

Next week: vs. Xavier (Dec. 14 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Georgia Tech

Bad losses: None

Cincinnati had their toughest test of the season, a road game against a struggling Villanova team. They lost by eight, and it never really felt like Cincinnati was in it. They still don’t have that signature win in nonconference play, but they’ll have a huge chance this week against in-state rival Xavier. College basketball fans, this should be circled on your calendar, and Cincinnati doubters, this will be a great way to determine whether Cincinnati can compete for a Big 12 title, or if they’ll be in this 5-7 range all season.

7) Baylor Bears

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-3)

Record: 5-3

Last week: L at #25 UConn (72-76)

Next week: vs. Abilene Christian (Dec. 9 – 8 p.m.), vs. Norfolk State (Dec. 11 – Noon)

Quality wins: #18 Arkansas (Neutral), #22 St. John’s (Neutral)

Bad losses: at #3 Gonzaga

Baylor keeps scheduling big non-conference games, so you have to respect them for that, but they keep losing. This team it’s a loss at UConn by 4. Rob Wright had a breakout game, scoring 22 points, so that’s encouraging to see for depth reasons. They still have a long way to go before conference play, but a couple mid-major opponents to end the non-conference will hopefully give them time to fix those mistakes.

8) UCF Knights

Last week’s ranking: 10 (+2)

Record: 7-2

Last week: W vs. Tarleton State (66-51)

Next week: vs. Tulsa (Dec. 14 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. #22 Texas A&M

Bad losses: None

That Texas A&M win is looking a lot better after Texas Tech lost to them this weekend. After many single-digit wins and losses, UCF has ripped off back-to-back double-digit wins, which is encouraging. This week, just one game, taking on Tulsa on a neutral court.

9) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)

Record: 7-2

Last week: W vs. DePaul (76-62), L vs. #22 Texas A&M (67-72)

Next week: None

Quality wins: Syracuse (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

This is a crazy sentence to type, but Texas Tech ended DePaul’s undefeated season early in the week. Then, they responded with a neutral court loss against Texas A&M. Toppin was out in that game, but that’s still a big resume loss they miss out on. Now, they’ll head into conference play with their quality wins being Syracuse and DePaul. They get a week off to regroup and hopefully let Toppin heal up before a game against Oral Roberts.

10) Colorado Buffaloes

Last week’s ranking: 14 (+1)

Record: 7-2

Last week: W vs. Pacific (75-66), W vs. Colorado State (72-55)

Next week: vs. South Dakota State (Dec. 13 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: #2 UConn (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

Nothing better than beating your rival, which Colorado did in dominant fashion, beating Colorado State by 17. Bangot Dak came out of nowhere, scoring 16 points in 18 minutes. Trevor Baskin has grabbed double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games as well. Colorado has to be happy with the non-conference performance and will have a good chance to enter conference play at 9-2.

11) Arizona Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 13 (+2)

Record: 4-4

Last week: W vs. Southern Utah (102-66)

Next week: vs. UCLA (Dec. 14 – 3 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: None

Arizona looked more like the team we thought they were this week, beating Southern Utah by nearly 40. They shot 50% from the field, had seven players score in double figures, and outrebounded the opponent 31-19. Obviously, this is a lower-level opponent, but it was encouraging to see all things clicking on the offensive end. They’ll need it to click again this Saturday as they get their last chance for a quality win against UCLA. This will be played in Phoenix, so they should have the home boost, but will be essential to add one good win before conference play starts.

12) TCU Horned Frogs

Last week’s ranking: 16 (+4)

Record: 5-4

Last week: W vs. Xavier (76-72), L vs. Vanderbilt (74-83)

Next week: None

Quality wins: Xavier

Bad losses: Santa Clara (Neutral), Colorado State (Neutral)

After a rough showing the week before, TCU picked up a big win, beating Xavier at home. Frankie Collins did it all, leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists. They followed that up with a neutral loss to Vanderbilt. This TCU team looks nowhere near a tournament team yet, but the home win against Xavier at least gave them a blueprint on how to beat a better opponent. TCU will get a week off before a matchup with South Alabama.

13) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week’s ranking: 15 (+2)

Record: 6-2

Last week: W at Tulsa (76-55), W at Seton Hall (85-76)

Next week: vs. Oklahoma (Dec. 14 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: FAU (Neutral)

Beating Tulsa and Seton Hall isn’t that impressive, but winning both on the road certainly is. We’ve seen countless teams, including Kansas, struggle in road environments, so going 2-0 and winning both easily is a great sign., Unfortunately, the Miami win hasn’t held up, and Seton Hall is arguably the worst Power 5 team right now, so the big games they scheduled last year don’t hold the same value.

One game that will hold value is a game against Oklahoma. If they can beat the undefeated rival, they’ll shoot up the power rankings and will force Big 12 members to take them more seriously.

14) Kansas State Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 12 (-2)

Record: 6-3

Last week: L at St. John’s (71-88)

Next week: None

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Liberty

Kansas State actually looked like they were going to pull off the upset, leading Saint John’s on the road by four at halftime, but pretty much gave up after that, allowing them to be outscored by 21 and suffered a double-digit loss. This season has been a disaster, and they have a lot more questions than answers at this point. They still have two big resume opportunities against Drake and Wichita State, so hopefully, a week to regroup will help this Wildcat team.

15) BYU Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-7)

Record: 6-2

Last week: L at Providence (64-83)

Next week: vs. Fresno State (Dec. 11 – 9 p.m.), vs. Wyoming (Dec. 14 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. NC State

Bad losses: N/A

BYU was embarrassed on the court this week. They trailed by as much as 25 to Providence and didn’t really show a lot of fight. Egor Demin, who this team leans on heavily, shot 0-10 from the field. This team needs to get it together, because an effort like that won’t slide in the Big 12. They should dominate the next two games against the Mountain West this week.

16) Utah Utes

Last week’s ranking: 11 (-5)

Record: 6-2

Last week: L vs. Saint Mary’s (63-72)

Next week: vs. Radford (Dec. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

We are one month into the season, and Utah’s best win is against Eastern Washington, who are ranked 253rd in KenPom. They made a nice comeback against Saint Mary’s, cutting a 17-point halftime deficit to 2. It wasn’t enough though, and despite the 6-2 record, they lack any good wins. Radford is the best team they’ve played this season, so a blowout win would be a positive step for the Utes.

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