Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 13 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 12 team of the week: Texas Tech
Week 12 game of the week: #12 Texas Tech over #6 Houston
Week 12 player of the week:Â AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Week 13 matchup of the week: #1 Arizona at #13 BYU
Week 13 under-the-radar matchup of the week: #11 Texas Tech at UCF
1) Arizona Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 20-0 (7-0)
Last week: W vs. Cincinnati (77-51), W vs. West Virginia (88-53)
Next week: at #13 BYU (Jan. 26 – 9 p.m.), at Arizona State (Jan. 31 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at UConn, Alabama (Neutral), Florida (Neutral), Auburn, UCLA (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral), at TCU, at UCF
Bad losses:
20-0. We are nearing the end of January, and yet Arizona has still not suffered a loss. This team is number one in the country for a reason, and they’re not slowing down, winning the two games by a combined 61 points. This week, though, the toughest test they’ve faced in conference play. They’ll travel to BYU on Monday and face the Cougars.
Cancel your plans on Monday, because this could end up being one of the better games of the season. If they prevail, they get to play their rivals on the road, a game that should be much easier, but ASU gave them trouble when they played a few games ago.
2) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+3)
Record: 16-4 (6-1)
Last week: W at Baylor (92-73), W vs. #6 Houston (90-86)
Next week: at UCF (Jan. 31 – Noon)
Quality wins: Duke (Neutral), Houston, BYU, at Baylor, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest (Neutral), LSU (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Duke, Houston, and BYU have lost a combined five games. Three of those are to Texas Tech. This team is championship caliber, and reminded everyone of that with a huge home win against Houston. JT Toppin scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Donovan Atwell and Jaylen Petty both scored 18.
Texas Tech has just four more ranked games left on its schedule, so don’t count them out to win this conference. They’ll need to get past an unranked team, UCF, first on the road.
3) BYU Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)
Record: 17-2 (5-1)
Last week: W vs. Utah (91-78)
Next week: vs. #1 Arizona (Jan. 26 – 9 p.m.), at #14 Kansas (Jan. 31 – 4:30 p.m)
Quality wins: Clemson (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral), Villanova (Neutral), Miami-Fla (Neutral), Dayton (Neutral),
Bad losses:
AJ Dybantsa did it again. Against Utah, he scored 43 points, shot 15-24, and 4-5 from three. Truly a special player. With him on the court, and playing the way he has, they can go very far. Also, they swept their in-state rival, which is fun. No time to celebrate, though, because they might have the toughest week of any team this season.
They’ll start with a Big Monday matchup against Arizona, one of the three unbeatens in the country. Then, they’ll travel to Allen Fieldhouse and face Kansas, one of the toughest places to play in the country. We’ll see a potential one vs two pick in the draft matchup between AJ and Darryn Peterson, which should make a lot of draft fans excited.
4) Kansas Jayhawks
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+4)
Record: 15-5 (5-2)
Last week: W at Colorado (75-69), W at Kansas State (86-62)
Next week: vs. #13 BYU (Jan. 31 – 4:30 p.m)
Quality wins: Tennessee (Neutral), at NC State, Missouri (Neutral), TCU, Syracuse (Neutral), Notre Dame (Neutral)
Bad losses:
The Jayhawks are playing some ball! One of the biggest concerns about this team was their road struggles, but they shut that down this week, going 2-0 away from home. Plus, they beat their rivals, Kansas State, in Manhattan without their superstar Darryn Peterson.
This team is finally learning how to play with each other at a high level and has become a threat in the Big 12. However, they’ll get a big test this week, facing BYU at home, in as previously mentioned, a potential matchup between the top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
5) Houston Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-1)
Record: 17-2 (5-1)
Last week: L at #12 Texas Tech (86-90)
Next week: at TCU (Jan. 28 – 9 p.m.), vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 31 – Noon)
Quality wins: Texas Tech, Arkansas (Neutral), Auburn (Neutral), at Baylor, Syracuse (Neutral), Notre Dame (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Houston suffered their first loss in conference play, losing an exciting battle on the road to Texas Tech. The good was Kingston Flemings, who scored 42 points and added 6 assists. You wouldn’t believe he’s a freshman with how good he’s been all season, particularly in that game. The bad is allowing 90 points in regulation. That isn’t Houston basketball, and they’ll definitely hear it from Kelvin Sampson.
This week, they’ll get back on track against TCU and Cincinnati. Don’t be surprised if they win those two by a combined 50 points.
6) Iowa State Cyclones
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-4)
Record: 18-2 (5-2)
Last week: W vs. UCF (87-57), W at Oklahoma State (84-71)
Next week: vs. Colorado (Jan. 29 – 7 p.m.), at Kansas State (Feb. 1 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Purdue, St. John’s (Neutral), Iowa, Creighton (Neutral), at Baylor, UCF, Syracuse (Neutral), Oklahoma State
Bad losses: at Cincinnati
After that 0-2 week, Iowa State got back on track, going 2-0 with a 30-point win over UCF and a 13-point win over Oklahoma State. Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson continued to shine, with Jefferson getting a triple-double in the UCF win. Iowa State has four games they should win easily coming up, before a grueling three-game stretch. Winning all four of those will be crucial if they want to compete for the Big 12 basketball title.
7) UCF Knights
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 15-4 (4-3)
Last week: L at #9 Iowa State (57-87), W at Colorado (95-86)
Next week: vs. Arizona State (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.), vs. #11 Texas Tech (Jan. 31 – Noon)
Quality wins: Kansas, at Texas A&M
Bad losses:
With the exception of the Kansas game and arguably the Oklahoma State game, UCF has won the games they’re supposed to and lost the ones they shouldn’t. They lost to Iowa State, although pretty handily, but then turned around and beat Colorado on the road.
The team continues to be balanced and has carved its way to be the clear seventh-best team in Big 12 basketball. If things go the way they have been, expect another 1-1 week ahead, with a win over Arizona State and a loss against Texas Tech.
8) TCU Horned Frogs
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-1)
Record: 13-7 (3-4)
Last week: W vs. Oklahoma State (68-65), at Baylor (97-90)
Next week: vs. #10 Houston (Jan. 28 – 9 p.m.), at Colorado (Feb. 1 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Florida (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral), Baylor (2x)
Bad losses: New Orleans
For the first time in conference play, TCU enjoyed a 2-0 week, which included a sweep of Baylor on the season. This team is definitely better than their record, as they’ve shown against some elite competition, but also have so many head-scratching losses. They’ll have plenty of opportunities to boost their record in the upcoming weeks, starting with Colorado and Houston this week.
9) West Virginia Mountaineers
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 13-7 (4-3)
Last week: W at Arizona State (75-63), L at #1 Arizona (53-88)
Next week: vs. Kansas State (Jan. 27 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Baylor (Jan. 31 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas
Bad losses:
Like UCF, West Virginia has won the games they’re supposed to, and lost the games they’re supposed to. They beat ASU on the road, then got blown out by Arizona. After the rough non-conference, sitting at 4-3 is ideal, and if they want to make a tournament bid, they’ll need to continue to win these games.
They have two games that they should and need to win this week. We’ll see if being at home will help with that.
10) Arizona State Sun Devils
Last week’s ranking: 13 (+3)
Record: 11-9 (2-5)
Last week: L vs. West Virginia (63-75), W vs. Cincinnati (82-68)
Next week: at UCF (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.), vs. #1 Arizona (Jan. 31 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Texas (Neutral), Oklahoma, Santa Clara
Bad losses:
After West Virginia, the Big 12 gets ugly. Arizona State might be the best of the worst. They picked up their second conference win on Saturday, beating Cincinnati by 14 at home. Mo Odum was awesome in that game, scoring 33 points to go with 8 assists. He’s been a big reason why this team isn’t one of the worst Power 5 teams in the country.
Arizona State kept it close with Arizona on the road the first time they played, so maybe in Tempe, they can cause some fireworks and pick up a huge win for their future.
11) Cincinnati Bearcats
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+4)
Record: 10-10 (2-5)
Last week: L at #1 Arizona (51-77), at Arizona State (68-82)
Next week: vs. Baylor (Jan. 28 – 6:30 p.m.), at #10 Houston (Jan. 31 – Noon)
Quality wins: Dayton, Iowa State
Bad losses: Eastern Michigan
After beating Iowa State and improving to 2-3 in conference play, there was hope that Cincinnati finally figured it out. Nope, they lose to Arizona (understandably), then drop to Arizona State by double digits. They’ve reached ten losses and need to be more or less perfect the rest of the season. They’ll get two more chances this week against Baylor and at Houston.
Wes Miller, you only have a few more games left to prove yourself, although that ship probably sailed long ago.
12) Baylor Bears
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 11-8 (1-6)
Last week: L vs. Texas Tech (73-92), L vs. TCU (90-97)
Next week: at Cincinnati (Jan. 28 – 6:30 p.m.), at West Virginia (Jan. 31 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Creighton (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral), Washington
Bad losses:
Safe to say that losing your whole roster in the offseason has its consequences. Baylor now sits at 1-6 in conference play, and losers of three straight. They’ve been dealt a really unfortunate schedule so far, playing only top eight teams in these Big 12 basketball power rankings, and it doesn’t get much easier down the road. They’ll face two unranked teams this week in hopes of getting their record back on track as we enter February.
13) Oklahoma State Cowboys
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-2)
Record: 14-6 (2-5)
Last week: L at TCU (65-68), L vs. #9 Iowa State (71-84)
Next week: at Utah (Jan. 31 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: UCF, Texas A&M, at Northwestern, South Florida
Bad losses:
Oklahoma State started the season 9-0. Since then, they are 5-6. Not great when you’re trying to steal a spot in the tournament. They’ve lost four of five, including back-to-back losses this week. After a red-hot start to the season, Vyctorius Miller hasn’t scored in double figures in three straight games, and it’s shown.
They play just one game this week, against Utah. If they don’t win that, they can kiss their hopes and dreams of competing for a championship goodbye.
14) Colorado Buffaloes
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-4)
Record: 12-8 (2-5)
Last week: L vs. Kansas (69-75), L vs. UCF (86-95)
Next week: at #8 Iowa State (Jan. 29 – 7 p.m.), vs. TCU (Feb. 1 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Washington (Neutral), at Arizona State, Providence
Bad losses: Northern Colorado
After starting conference play 2-0, Colorado has now lost five straight. Even worse, both losses this week were at home. Obviously, their non-conference wins haven’t held up well, so they’re going to need to start winning these big-time matchups if they want a chance at the tournament. They’ll get that chance this week when they face Iowa State and TCU. However, don’t be surprised if we see loss number seven in a row.
15) Kansas State Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-4)
Record: 10-10 (1-6)
Last week: W vs. Utah (81-78), L vs. #19 Kansas (62-86)
Next week: at West Virginia (Jan. 27 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. #8 Iowa State (Feb. 1 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Creighton, California, Mississippi State (Neutral)
Bad losses: Bowling Green
Kansas State actually won this week, but watching them play the second half vs. Kansas, they looked like a team that gave up. They’re 1-6 in conference play, and outside of PJ Haggerty, don’t have a consistent presence. Like Cincinnati, this team plays with no heart, and there will be some changes at the end of the season.
Maybe I’m wrong, and they’ll come out strong this week, but really poor basketball is being played in Manhattan right now.
16) Utah Utes
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)
Record: 9-11 (1-6)
Last week: L at Kansas State (78-81), L at #13 BYU (78-91)
Next week: vs. Oklahoma State (Jan. 31 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Ole Miss (Neutral)
Bad losses: Cal Poly
Only one team sits under .500 this season in the Big 12, and that’s Utah. They did so with another 0-2 week, falling to 1-6 in conference play. The good news is they only play once this week. There’s not much to say about this Utah team, until they play defense, they’re not going to win games, it’s as simple as that.
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