2024-25 Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 9

Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 9 of the 2024 season.

Matchup of the week: Baylor vs. Iowa State (Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.)

Sneaky good matchup of the week: Kansas at UCF (Jan. 5 at 4 p.m.)

All games listed are EST

1) Iowa State Cyclones

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)

Record: 10-1

Last week: None

Next week: at Colorado (Dec. 30 – 9 p.m.), vs. #25 Baylor (Jan. 4 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: #8 Marquette, Dayton (Neutral), at Iowa, Colorado (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

Iowa State heads into conference play with a 10-1 record and several quality wins on their resume. They continue to shine offensively, and the guard duo of Lipsey and Gilbert have paired perfectly with the key role players Jefferson and Curtis Jones. This team will absolutely be a title contender and will be in the top 10 in the country all season long.

They get to play Colorado for the second time this season, after beating them by 28 in Maui. Expect a similar result this time around. Then, a big-time matchup against Baylor, where the Cyclones can make a statement early in conference play if they can pull out the home win.

2) Houston Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)

Record: 8-3

Last week: None

Next week: at Oklahoma State (Dec. 30 – 8 p.m.), vs. BYU (Jan. 4 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: Butler, Notre Dame (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

Not the resume Houston wanted heading into conference play, but the way they’ve played since the Players Era Tournament shows a lot of confidence moving forward. They absolutely dominated their competition, and defensively look like they might be the best in the country. They start off conference play extremely favorably, not facing any of the top 5 Big 12 teams until the 8th game of conference play, a road test against Kansas.

3) Cincinnati Bearcats

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)

Record: 10-1

Last week: None

Next week: at Kansas State (Dec. 30 – 7 p.m.), vs. Arizona (Jan. 4 – 2:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Xavier, at Georgia Tech, Dayton (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

Cincinnati has lived up to the preseason hype and picked up another big in-state rivalry win last time around against Dayton. The starting 5 is so dangerous on both ends of the floor and rarely has bad nights, making it extremely difficult to play them. We saw that against Dayton, when Skillings, James, and Lukosius all scored 13 or more, while Mitchell and Bandaogo dominated the paint defensively.

This week, they take on two teams with a lot to prove after abysmal non-conference performances. Don’t be surprised if either of these games comes down to the wire, despite Cincy being the better team.

4) Kansas Jayhawks

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: vs. West Virginia (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.), at UCF (Jan. 5 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: #4 Duke (Neutral), UNC, #18 Michigan State (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

The Jayhawks had another good week last time they played, and have looked solid since that week from hell. Zeke Mayo has found his shot again, averaging 25.5 points in the last two games. Kansas would love to get the Big 12 title back this year after Houston took it last year, and it will start with a home game against West Virginia on New Year’s Eve. Then, a road game against UCF. UCF beat them in the same spot last year, so keep an eye on this one on Sunday.

5) Arizona State Sun Devils

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: at BYU (Dec. 31 – 4 p.m.), vs. Colorado (Jan. 4 – 6 p.m.)

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

Bad losses: None

Arizona State struggled early with UMass, trailing by 2 at the half, but used a big second half to win comfortably. Jayden Quaintance shined again, scoring 19 points, along with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Joson Sanon has struggled in the last two games, so hopefully the time off will help him regroup because his presence is essential if they want to make a tournament run.

They play BYU on NYE, which is arguably the second-best game of the week. This game could be a good indication of both team’s ceilings this season. Then, an easier matchup at home against Colorado to close out their first week ever of Big 12 conference play.

6) West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: at #7 Kansas (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.), vs. Oklahoma State (Jan. 4 – Noon)

Quality wins: #14 Gonzaga (Neutral), Arizona (Neutral), Georgetown

Bad losses: None

West Virginia has to be happy with the non-conference performance. The Gonzaga win will naturally age well, and Georgetown has exceeded expectations early. The big question continues to be how long Tucker DeVries is out.

Hopefully, he’ll suit up for the conference opener against Kansas on New Year’s Eve, because a test at Allen Fieldhouse without him could lead to a very unfortunate result. Luckily, they’ll follow that up with a home game against Oklahoma State, where Javon Small can hopefully dominate against his former school.

7) Baylor Bears

Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)

Record: 8-3

Last week: Arlington Baptist (107-53)

Next week: vs. Utah (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.), at #3 Iowa State (Jan. 4 – 2 p.m.)

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

Bad losses: at #3 Gonzaga

Baylor was the only team in the Big 12 with a game this week, taking down Division II Arlington Baptist with ease. Definitely not the non-conference result they would have liked, dropping three games, and the two games they won being teams no longer ranked. The Arkansas and Saint John’s wins will still hold strong in March, but overall, this team hasn’t shown they’re in that same tier with the Big 4 in the Big 12 right now.

Lots of time left in the season though, and we know they have the talent to be a contender. Hopefully, the Utah game won’t cause many issues for them, because they’ll need to be on their A+ game if they want to take down Iowa State in Ames.

8) UCF Knights

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: at Texas Tech (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.), vs. #7 Kansas (Jan. 5 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. #13 Texas A&M

Bad losses: None

UCF enters conference play on a 5 game winning streak, but no impressive wins during that time. The good news, Jaylin Sellers and Mikey Williams both made their season debuts against Jacksonville, and both will be huge pieces for this team down the stretch, especially Sellers.

UCF has the toughest start to Big 12 play, facing Texas Tech on the road before a home game against Kansas to start things off. If they can win one of those, that will be very important to their long-term results, especially if they win that Kansas game like they did last season.

9) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: vs. UCF (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.), at Utah (Jan. 4 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: Syracuse (Neutral), DePaul

Bad losses: None

Easy week two weeks ago for the Red Raiders, beating both opponents by 30+. Federiko Federiko had a monster game against Oral Roberts, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds after not scoring more than 8 points in any games prior. They’ll need a healthy JT Toppin if they want to rise in the power rankings, which they should have in time for conference play.

They’ll take on UCF to start, before traveling to Utah. Texas Tech hasn’t played a true road game yet this season, so going to Utah and the elevation could be a trap game for the Red Raiders.

10) Colorado Buffaloes

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: vs. #3 Iowa State (Dec. 30 – 9 p.m.), at Arizona State (Jan. 4 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: #11 UConn (Neutral)

Bad losses: None

Colorado heads into conference play at 9-2 with that big win against UConn. They’ll need to show a little more before being considered a Big 12 threat, and what better way to start than with two games against two of the top 5 teams in the Big 12 basketball power rankings? Colorado has only played once in the last 17 days, so hopefully, those fresh legs will help against these two talented teams.

11) BYU Cougars

Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)

Record: 9-2

Last week: None

Next week: vs. Arizona State (Dec. 31 – 4 p.m.), at #15 Houston (Jan. 4 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. NC State

Bad losses: at Providence

BYU enters conference play with a pretty lackluster resume, with only one win against a Power 5 opponent, 8-4 NC State. We know they have the potential and depth to be a tournament team but haven’t shown that yet. No better way to showcase that than two big games to start off conference play. Either one of these games would be their best win of the season, so this week is essential for their long term tournament hopes.

12) Utah Utes

Last week’s ranking: 14 (+2)

Record: 8-3

Last week: None

Next week: at #25 Baylor (Dec. 31 – 2 p.m.), vs. Texas Tech (Jan. 4 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: None

The Utes avoided any bad losses in the non-conference but lost all three games against Quad 1 and 2 opponents. This team was projected to finish last in the conference, and have a tough three-game stretch to start conference play. They’ll need a lot of help from Madsen if they want to avoid that dreaded 0-3 start.

13) Arizona Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)

Record: 6-5

Last week: None

Next week: vs. TCU (Dec. 30 – 8 p.m.), at #17 Cincinnati (Jan. 4 – 2:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: None

The nightmare non-conference is finally over, and Arizona finishes just above .500. They went 0-5 against Q1 and 2 competition, and the best win so far is against Davidson. This item has a laundry list of problems, and hopefully, they took this break to address them. We will see this week against TCU and Cincinnati, who they should go 1-1 against, but any other result will tell us a lot about them, both good and bad.

14) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Last week’s ranking: 15 (+1)

Record: 8-3

Last week: None

Next week: vs. #15 Houston (Dec. 30 – 8 p.m.), at West Virginia (Jan. 4 – Noon)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: FAU (Neutral)

Oklahoma State can’t be too upset with an 8-3 record, but don’t have that quality win, while that loss against FAU hasn’t aged well. They’ll need to be better on both ends of the floor, as they aren’t ranked in the Top 100 in KenPom on either side. The extended break could help, and this week is an important week. After that game, they don’t play another ranked team until February 4th, when they play Houston again, so starting strong and building enough momentum could be enough to get them into the tournament in March.

15) TCU Horned Frogs

Last week’s ranking: 16 (+1)

Record: 7-4

Last week: None

Next week: at Arizona (Dec. 30 – 8 p.m.), vs. Kansas State (Jan. 4 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Xavier

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

TCU played their best game of the season last time out, beating Montana State by 34. Noah Reynolds was big, and they’ll need him to continue to be so if TCU wants to compete without Frankie Collins. They take on two of the bottom five teams in the Big 12 to start things off, so perhaps they can start off with a winning record in conference play before a tough mid-January stretch.

16) Kansas State Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 12 (4)

Record: 6-5

Last week: None

Next week: vs. #17 Cincinnati (Dec. 30 – 7 p.m.), at TCU (Jan. 4 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Liberty, Wichita State

It can’t get much worse for Kansas State. They are 0-5 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents and have losses to Liberty, Drake, and now Wichita State. They’ve dismissed a player from the team, and the fans are calling for change. It’ll be an uphill battle for the rest of the season, but there’s still hope that things can turn around. They have the talent, they just haven’t come together and blended in big games. What better time to start than this week, when they welcome Cincinnati to Manhattan, and then face the other team at the bottom of the Big 12?

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