Ariel Puterman gives his Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into week 14 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 12 team of the week: Kansas Jayhawks
Week 12 game of the week: #1 Arizona defeats #13 BYU, 86-83
Week 12 player of the week: Brayden Burries, Arizona
Week 13 matchup of the week: #11 Kansas at #13 Texas Tech
Week 13 under-the-radar matchup of the week: UCF at Cincinnati
1) Arizona Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 22-0 (9-0)
Last week: W at #13 BYU (86-83), W at Arizona State (87-74)
Next week: at Oklahoma State (Feb. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at UConn, at BYU, Florida (Neutral), Alabama (Neutral), Auburn, UCLA (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral), at UCF, at TCU
Bad losses:
Projected seed: 1 seed
22-0. They are getting closer and closer to the perfect season. They picked up a huge win on the road against BYU, but not without a little drama. They nearly blew an 11-point lead with 1:04 left, but got it done. Then, they swept their rival, Arizona State, to stay undefeated. Brayden Burries was phenomenal in both games, and Jaden Bradley was equally impressive in the BYU win.
Only one game this week, which they should take care of business. Then, an absolute gauntlet of a schedule to close the season. They’ve already proven they can beat anyone, but that will be put to the test once again shortly.
2) Kansas Jayhawks
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+2)
Record: 16-5 (6-2)
Last week: W vs. #13 BYU (90-82)
Next week: at #13 Texas Tech (Feb. 2 – 9 p.m), vs. Utah (Feb. 7 – 2:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Iowa State, BYU, Tennessee (Neutral), at NC State, Missouri (Neutral), TCU
Bad losses:
Projected seed: 3-4 seed
After the loss to West Virginia, Kansas held a players-only meeting. Since then, they’re 5-0 with wins over Iowa State, rival Kansas State, and most recently BYU. Darryn Peterson was incredible in the first half, but sat out the second half with cramping. Bryson Tiller also had a career game, scoring 21.
This team is starting to look like a contender, and it looks like the rotation has been fixed, and the ball-handling situation between Peterson and Melvin Council Jr. has allowed both to succeed. They have a quick turnaround, though, where they’ll have to face Texas Tech on the road on two days’ rest. Then, they get rewarded by getting to play Utah at home.
3) Houston Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+2)
Record: 19-2 (7-1)
Last week: W at TCU (79-70), W vs. Cincinnati (76-54)
Next week: vs. UCF (Feb. 4 – 7 p.m.), at #16 BYU (Feb. 7 – 10:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Texas Tech, Arkansas (Neutral), Auburn (Neutral), at TCU
Bad losses:
Projected seed: 2-3 seed
Houston looked a lot better after the loss to Texas Tech. Kingston Flemings was awesome again against TCU, then the defense really showed up against Cincinnati. This week is a tough week ahead. They play a dangerous UCF team, then travel to BYU, which is never an easy place to play. We get to see another potential top five draft pick matchup, though, between AJ Dybantsa and Flemings
4) Iowa State Cyclones
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+2)
Record: 20-2 (7-2)
Last week: W vs. Colorado (97-67), W at Kansas State (95-61)
Next week: vs. Baylor (Feb. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Purdue, St. John’s (Neutral), Iowa, UCF, Creighton (Neutral), at Baylor, Syracuse (Neutral), Oklahoma State
Bad losses: at Cincinnati
Projected seed: 2 seed
After the two-loss week, Iowa State has been playing angrily, and that was shown this week when they won both games by over 30 points. The offense is on fire, scoring 95+ in both games, but they’re doing it with balanced scoring, with no players scoring 20 points in either game. These are obviously games they’re supposed to be winning, but the way they’re winning is not only impressive, but proves they’re an elite team.
5) Texas Tech Red Raiders
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-3)
Record: 16-5 (6-2)
Last week: L at UCF (80-88)
Next week: vs. #11 Kansas (Feb. 2 – 9 p.m), at West Virginia (Feb. 8 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: Duke (Neutral), Houston, BYU
Bad losses:
Projected seed: 4 seed
UCF has proven to be no joke at home, and they caught Texas Tech in this one. JT Toppin and Christian Anderson were great, but the supporting cast didn’t step up as they did against Houston. Now, they’ll have to regroup and prepare for Kansas on two days’ rest, no easy task. Then, they’ll travel to West Virginia. Tough week ahead, like many Big 12 teams, but it’s February now, and there’s no better time to prove whether they can cut down the nets in April than now.
6) UCF Knights
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 17-4 (6-3)
Last week: W vs. Arizona State (79-76), W vs. #11 Texas Tech (88-80)
Next week: at #8 Houston (Feb. 4 – 10 p.m.), at Cincinnati (Feb. 8 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas, Texas Tech, at Texas A&M
Bad losses:
Projected seed: 7-9 seed
We thought that no team outside of Arizona, Kansas, Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and BYU would crack the top 6 all season, but UCF has proven otherwise. They started the week with a near scare, trailing Arizona State by double digits with seven minutes. However, they got the win to improve to 16-4. Then, wearing the SpaceU jerseys, they picked up a huge win over Texas Tech.
UCF has three really strong wins and no bad losses. Let’s see if they can continue that when they go on the road and face Houston and Cincy.
7) BYU Cougars
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-4)
Record: 17-4 (5-3)
Last week: L vs. #1 Arizona (83-86), L at #14 Kansas (82-90)
Next week: at Oklahoma State (Feb 4 – 9:00 p.m), vs. #8 Houston (Feb 7 – 8:30)
Quality wins: Clemson (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral), Villanova (Neutral), Miami-Fla (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Projected seed: 4 seed
BYU has now lost three of its last four games in conference play, and its best win through eight games is TCU at home. The theme of this team is poor first half, strong second half. Unfortunately, the deficit they face at halftime is too much to overcome. The schedule isn’t getting any easier, with Houston right around the corner, so it’s an important week for this BYU team.
8) West Virginia Mountaineers
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+1)
Record: 14-8 (5-4)
Last week: W vs. Kansas State (59-54), L vs. Baylor (53-63)
Next week: at Cincinnati (Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.), vs. #13 Texas Tech (Feb. 8 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas
Bad losses:
Projected seed: OUT
West Virginia is staying above .500 in conference play with a win over Kansas State, followed by a loss against Baylor. Having an above .500 team is good, but they need more big wins besides Kansas. The defense has looked improved, allowing under 65 in both games, but scoring under 60 points in back-to-back games is rough. Surprisingly, they don’t have a lot of big win opportunities left, but as long as they don’t avoid any bad losses, they can enter Big 12 tournament play in bubble conversations.
9) Oklahoma State Cowboys
Last week’s ranking: 13 (+4)
Record: 15-6 (3-5)
Last week: W at Utah (81-69)
Next week: vs. #16 BYU (Feb. 4 – 9 p.m.), at #1 Arizona (Feb. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: UCF, Texas A&M, South Florida
Bad losses:
Projected seed: First Four Out / Out
The good news, Oklahoma State went undefeated this week, beating Utah by double digits on the road. The bad news, they have to face BYU and Arizona back-to-back this week. The UCF and Texas A&M wins have aged well, which has kept them in bubble conversations, but they’ll need a little more to get on the right side of the tournament. They have opportunities down the road, but no better opportunity than this week.
10) TCU Horned Frogs
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-2)
Record: 13-9 (3-6)
Last week: L vs. #10 Houston (70-79), L at Colorado (61-87)
Next week: vs. Kansas State (Feb. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Florida (Neutral), Wisconsin (Neutral)
Bad losses: New Orleans
Projected seed: Last Four In / First Four Out
Horrible week for TCU, going 0-2 in an important week for their future. They kept it close against Houston, but then got embarrassed by a Colorado team that had. lost six straight prior. They are firmly on the bubble and need guys other than Edmonds to step up. Just one game this week, against Kansas State, in hopes they can reset and finish the season strong.
11) Cincinnati Bearcats
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 11-11 (3-6)
Last week: W vs. Baylor (67-57), L at #10 Houston (54-76)
Next week: vs. West Virginia (Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.), vs. UCF (Feb. 8 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Iowa State
Bad losses: Eastern Michigan
Projected seed: OUT
Cincinnati won one and lost one to remain .500 on the season. They have not scored 70 in a game in four straight games, which isn’t great, but the defense has been solid. They’re at home for both games this week, so that could mean a favorable week ahead, or more disappointment for a team that has faced quite a bit this week.
12) Baylor Bears
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 12-9 (2-7)
Last week: L at Cincinnati (57-67), W at West Virginia (63-53)
Next week: vs. Colorado (Feb. 4 – 8 p.m), at #7 Iowa State (Feb. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Creighton (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral)
Bad losses:
Projected seed: OUT
Even though it was on the road, Baylor really needed to beat Cincinnati to have any chance at being dangerous. They at least followed up with a win against West Virginia a few days later. They have a few chances upcoming to turn things around, but it looks like the team with two future first-round picks, as well as a former top 32 pick, won’t be good enough to make a tournament appearance this year.
13) Colorado Buffaloes
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+1)
Record: 13-9 (3-6)
Last week: L at Iowa State (67-97), W vs. TCU (87-61)
Next week: at Baylor (Feb. 4 – 8 p.m.), vs. Arizona State (Feb. 7 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: TCU
Bad losses: Northern Colorado
Projected seed: OUT
Colorado finally snapped their losing streak, which reached six games. They did it against TCU in dominant fashion, winning by 26. Maybe they still have a little inside them to go on a winning streak, but they’ll need to have more games defensively, as we saw against TCU, not Iowa State.
14) Arizona State Sun Devils
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-4)
Record: 11-11 (2-7)
Last week: L at UCF (76-79), L vs. #1 Arizona (74-87)
Next week: at Utah (Feb. 4 – 9 p.m.), at Colorado (Feb. 7 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Texas (Neutral), Santa Clara
Bad losses:
Projected seed: OUT
ASU is 1-5 in their last six games, including a 0-2 week last week. Things are not looking good in Tempe, and this all but solidifies that our time with Bobby Hurley on the Sun Devils’ sideline is nearing an end. They’ll face some former Pac-12 friends this week, going on the road to Utah and Colorado in hopes of picking up a win or two.
15) Kansas State Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 10-12 (1-8)
Last week: L at West Virginia (54-59), L vs. #8 Iowa State (61-95)
Next week: at TCU (Feb. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Creighton, California
Bad losses: Bowling Green
Kansas State started 1-6 last year, then ripped off six straight wins. This season, it’s not going to happen. This team truly plays with no heart, and somehow looks worse at home than on the road. Only one game this week against TCU, but if you don’t know which game to watch on Saturday, don’t pick that one.
16) Utah Utes
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)
Record: 9-12 (1-7)
Last week: L vs. Oklahoma State (69-81)
Next week: vs. Arizona State (Feb. 4 – 9 p.m.), at #11 Kansas (Feb. 7 – 2:30 p.m)
Quality wins: Ole Miss (Neutral)
Bad losses: Cal Poly
Kansas State is making a run at the worst team in the Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings, but the title is still Utah’s for now. There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said. Maybe they can beat Arizona State on the road and pick up a moral victory.
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