Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 10 of the 2024 season.
Matchup of the week: Kansas at Cincinnati (Jan 11 – 2 p.m. EST)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Baylor at Arizona State (Jan 11 – 9:30 p.m. EST)
All games listed are EST
1) Iowa State Cyclones
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 12-1 (2-0)
Last week: W at Colorado (79-69), W vs. #25 Baylor (74-55)
Next week: vs. Utah (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m.), at Texas Tech (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: #7 Marquette, Baylor, Dayton (Neutral), at Iowa, Colorado (2x)
Bad losses: None
Iowa State keeps on proving they’re the team to beat in the Big 12. Colorado did give them a bit of a scare, trailing by just 4 with under four minutes left in the game, but they were able to pull away late. Then, they completely manhandled Baylor at home, dominating early on and not looking back. Hilton is one of the hardest places to get a win in the country, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be any different this season.
This week, a chance to go 4-0 against a Utah team looking for its first Big 12 win, and Texas Tech who are looking to avenge their home loss from this week.
2) Houston Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 10-3 (2-0)
Last week: W at Oklahoma State (60-47), W vs. BYU (86-55)
Next week: vs. TCU (Jan. 6 – 9 p.m.), at Kansas State (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Butler, Notre Dame (Neutral), BYU
Bad losses: None
Houston continues to look absolutely dominant. They held Oklahoma State to under 50 points, the third time they did so in December, then followed that up with a 31 point home win against BYU. Everyone on this team knows their role and does it well, and defensively, there isn’t a better team in the country at this point.
This week, they should handle TCU easily, and then they’ll beat Kansas State, but it might be a little closer than people expect.
3) West Virginia Mountaineers
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+3)
Record: 11-2 (2-0)
Last week: W at #7 Kansas (62-61), W vs. Oklahoma State (69-50)
Next week: vs. Arizona (Jan. 7 – 7 p.m.), at Colorado (Jan. 12 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: at #11 Kansas, #18 Gonzaga (Neutral), Arizona (Neutral), Georgetown
Bad losses: None
The team of the week in the country? West Virginia. This team went into Allen Fieldhouse, a place they’d never won before, and beat Kansas. They did it without two of their three best players as well. Then, they came back home and beat Oklahoma State by 19, although it was never really that close.
Darian DeVries is making a strong case for coach of the year, and when they’re fully healthy, who knows what this team’s ceiling is. They’ll play a red hot Arizona team this week before traveling to Colorado.
4) Kansas Jayhawks
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 10-3 (1-1)
Last week: L vs. West Virginia (61-62), W at UCF (99-48)
Next week: vs. Arizona State (Jan. 8 – 9 p.m.), at Cincinnati (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: #4 Duke (Neutral), UNC, #16 Michigan State (Neutral), at UCF
Bad losses: None
You can argue no team in college basketball had a week of highs and lows quite like the Kansas Jayhawks. Let’s start with the lows. West Virginia came into Allen Fieldhouse and handed them a rare home loss, and an even more rare conference opening loss, their first in 34 years. Then, they came back and beat UCF by 51, one of the biggest wins in terms of margin of victory in Big 12 history.
We saw two Kansas Jayhawks teams this week, and it’s still unknown which one we’ll get on any given day. If we see the team that played against UCF, this team can win the Big 12. If it’s the one against West Virginia, this could be one of the worst Kansas teams in the Bill Self area. Two big games this week, let’s see which version of the Kansas Jayhawks shows up.
5) Baylor Bears
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)
Record: 9-4 (1-1)
Last week: W vs. Utah (81-56), L at #3 Iowa State (55-74)
Next week: vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m.), at Arizona State (Jan. 11 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Arkansas (Neutral), St. John’s (Neutral)
Bad losses: at #18 Gonzaga
After those top four, there are a bunch of teams that crushed a team in one game and got crushed in another, so you can really pick and choose where you want to place them. Baylor looked incredible at home against Utah, beating them by 25 and holding them to just 17 points in the first half. However, they followed that up with a blowout loss to Iowa State. Losing on the road to Iowa State isn’t a bad thing, but when you lose in that fashion it isn’t encouraging.
This is a really big week for the Bears. They’ll face Cincinnati at home, then Arizona State on the road. If they don’t go 2-0, it feels like their chances of winning the Big 12 drop to nearly zero. Is that an overreaction? Sure, but if they can’t consistently pile up wins when Iowa State and Houston and playing so well, then that could be the end. They’ll still comfortably make the tournament at this pace, however.
6) Cincinnati Bearcats
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-3)
Record: 10-3 (0-2)
Last week: L at Kansas State (67-70), L at Arizona (67-72)
Next week: at Baylor (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m.), vs. #11 Kansas (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Xavier, at Georgia Tech, Dayton (Neutral)
Bad losses: None
What a rough week for Cincinnati after such a strong non-conference. They faced the two biggest disappointments in nonconference play and came out with two losses. Both were close, but with Baylor and Kansas coming up, there’s a real risk of a 0-4 start. However, if they play more like they did against Xavier and Dayton, they can pick up another big win this week and add to their resume.
7) Arizona State Sun Devils
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-2)
Record: 10-3 (1-1)
Last week: L at BYU (56-76), W vs. Colorado (81-61)
Next week: at #11 Kansas (Jan. 8 – 9 p.m.), vs. Baylor (Jan. 11 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Saint Mary’s (Neutral), Santa Clara (Neutral), Grand Canyon (Neutral), New Mexico (Neutral)
Bad losses: None
Another team with a big loss and win this week. They stood no chance against BYU but looked much better at home against Colorado. The big question will be the availability of Joson Sanon. Sanon missed the Colorado game with a lower-body injury and has struggled in the past three games. Without him, it’ll be extra tough to beat both Baylor and Kansas this week.
8) Arizona Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 13 (+5)
Record: 8-5 (2-0)
Last week: W vs. TCU (90-81), W at #17 Cincinnati (72-67)
Next week: at #21 West Virginia (Jan. 7 – 7 p.m.), vs. UCF (Jan. 11 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Cincinnati
Bad losses: None
Is Arizona turning their season around? This was all they could ask for, going 2-0 and picking up their biggest win of the season on the road against Cincinnati. Caleb Love was great against TCU, scoring 33 points, but was terrible against Cincinnati. Luckily, the freshman Carter Bryant stepped up and got them the win. Plus Jaden Bradley hit a huge shot, which is what they want him to do. They’ll play West Virginia on the road this week, and that could be another important win, before a home game against UCF.
A 4-0 start doesn’t get them back in tournament talks, but its a huge step not only for their resume, but their confidence heading into middle-late January.
9) UCF Knights
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-1)
Record: 10-3 (1-1)
Last week: W at Texas Tech (87-83), L vs. #7 Kansas (48-99)
Next week: vs. Colorado (Jan. 8 – 9 p.m.), at Arizona (Jan. 11 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. #11 Texas A&M, at Texas Tech
Bad losses: Kansas
Like Kansas, which UCF team are we going to see on a given night? The one that beat Texas Tech on the road looked very strong, but the one we saw on Sunday did not. They’ll need Darius Johnson to be more consistent. He had 24 in the win against Texas Tech but followed that up with three points against Kansas. This week, they should win one of those games, but the Big 12 is so unpredictable like we saw with this team.
10) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-1)
Record: 10-3 (1-1)
Last week: L vs. UCF (83-87), W vs. Utah (93-65)
Next week: at BYU (Jan. 7 – 9 p.m.), vs. #3 Iowa State (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Texas Tech should be a little disappointed by the home loss, but they at least made up for it with a near 30-point win in their first true road game of the season. They still don’t have that big win, especially since Syracuse and DePaul have bottomed out. They’ll have two more chances this week, but this team certainly hasn’t lived up to the borderline top-25 projections that many had for this team.
11) BYU Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 10-3 (1-1)
Last week: W vs. Arizona State (76-56), L at #14 Houston (55-86)
Next week: vs. Texas Tech (Jan. 7 – 9 p.m.), at TCU (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: NC State, Arizona State
Bad losses: at Providence
It was an up-and-down week for BYU. The win against Arizona State was the best of the season, but losing by 31 to Houston is pretty rough. Egor Demin averaged 3.5 PPG this week. He did have 7 assists in both games, but he’ll need at least 10 a game consistently if they want to beat the best of the Big 12. BYU actually has a pretty favorable week ahead. Let’s see if they can take advantage.
12) TCU Horned Frogs
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+3)
Record: 8-5 (1-1)
Last week: L at Arizona (81-90), W vs. Kansas State (63-62)
Next week: at #12 Houston (Jan. 6 – 9 p.m.), vs. BYU (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Xavier
Bad losses: Santa Clara (Neutral), Colorado State (Neutral)
Noah Reynolds has really shined in the last few games. He’s led TCU in scoring the past three, including 23 against Arizona, and 18 and the game-winner against Kansas State. If TCU can win at home, then they can put together a decent resume. Still an uphill climb after a lackluster non-conference, but if Noah Reynolds continues to play like this, there’s some hope.
13) Kansas State Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 16 (+3)
Record: 7-6 (1-1)
Last week: W vs. #17 Cincinnati (70-67), L at TCU (62-63)
Next week: at Oklahoma State (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m.), vs. #14 Houston (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Cincinnati
Bad losses: Liberty, Wichita State
Kansas State finally got that big win they’ve desperately needed, beating Cincinnati at home. Coleman Hawkins had his best game of the season, scoring 20 in that game and grabbing 10 boards. They had a major chance to make it 2-0, but couldn’t hold on against TCU. They have another huge opportunity this week, welcoming Houston to Manhattan. If they can pull off the upset, they’ll put themselves in a great position to get back into the tournament mix.
14) Colorado Buffaloes
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-4)
Record: 9-4 (0-2)
Last week: L vs. #3 Iowa State (69-79), L at Arizona State (61-81)
Next week: at UCF (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), vs. West Virginia (Jan. 12 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: #9 UConn (Neutral)
Bad losses: None
Colorado gave Iowa State a bit of a scare but weren’t able to beat the Clones. Then, they lost by 20 on the right despite 23 points and 10 rebounds from Baskin. It seems like there’s a clear bottom three based on Week 1 of conference play, and Colorado is the clear best of the three. Let’s see if they can pick up win #1 against UCF or West Virginia.
15) Oklahoma State Cowboys
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-1)
Record: 8-5 (0-2)
Last week: L vs. #15 Houston (47-60), L at West Virginia (50-69)
Next week: vs. Kansas State (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m.), at Utah (Jan. 11 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: FAU (Neutral)
0-2 week for Oklahoma State. The offense is a serious issue, scoring 50 and 47 points in the two games. They did go up against two great defenses, but in Big 12 conference play, that won’t slide. Bryce Thompson shot just 2-12 this week, and they’ll need more from him this time around. They have two winnable matchups ahead, so hopefully for them, they can get that first conference win.
16) Utah Utes
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-4)
Record: 8-5 (0-2)
Last week: L at #25 Baylor (56-81), L vs. Texas Tech (65-93)
Next week: at #3 Iowa State (Jan. 7 – 8 p.m.), vs. Oklahoma State (Jan. 11 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Utah lost its two games by a combined 53 points. Based on last week’s showing, this is the clear worst team in the Big 12. Now, they get to play Iowa State on the road, where the Cyclones beat Baylor by 19. We at least get to see them play Oklahoma State at home following that, it is the best chance they’ll get for an easy win in the Big 12 this season. Buckle up Ute fans, it might be a long season if this week told us anything.
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