As of today, we’re officially less than one month away from Selection Sunday.
These next several weeks are going to fly, and the action around the Big 12 continues to intensify as the home stretch of the conference title race comes into shape.
Right now, there are probably three teams with a legitimate shot at winning or earning a share of the league title, but that’s subject to change as one bad week or one good week can deflate or elevate your chances significantly.
Let’s get to this week’s rankings…
1 – Texas – 9-3
The Longhorns have solidified themselves as the team to beat in the league by being the best team at avoiding a slump. Texas has not lost consecutive games yet this season and bounced back from last Monday’s loss in Lawrence by destroying West Virginia in Austin by 34 points. The road to a Big `12 title runs through Austin.
This week: @ Texas Tech (Monday), vs. Oklahoma (Saturday)
2 – Baylor – 8-4
Few teams in college basketball are playing better than Scott Drew’s team right now as they’ve won nine of their last 10 with the only loss coming on the road at Texas. That’s one helluva bounce back after losing three-straight to open Big 12 play. They’ve done it with what now ranks as the No. 1 adjusted offensive efficiency in the country on KenPom.
This week: vs. West Virginia (Monday), @ Kansas (Saturday)
3 – Kansas – 8-4
It would have been easy to write the Jayhawks out of the Big 12 title race after they lost three straight last month, but they’ve responded by winning four of five with critical wins over Kansas State and Texas. They’ll look to keep moving up in the standings this week with two big games against top-half of the league teams.
This week: @ Oklahoma State (Tuesday), vs. Baylor (Saturday)
4 – Oklahoma State – 6-6
I can’t say I saw this one coming, but Mike Boynton’s team has won seven of its last eight, including key road wins at Oklahoma and on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cowboys’ personnel is perfect for their style of play, and it has helped them produce the No. 6 adjusted defensive efficiency in the country. They’re big. They’re strong. They’re tough. They’re going to be a tough out for anyone left on their schedule.
This week: vs. Kansas (Tuesday), @ TCU (Saturday)
5 – Iowa State – 7-5
After starting Big 12 play with four-straight wins, the dog days of the season have put significant chinks in the Cyclones’ armor. Iowa State’s lost six of its last nine games and has lost five-straight games away from Hilton Coliseum. Some key injuries have hurt Iowa State during that stretch, but they’ve lost some games they shouldn’t have, too.
This week: vs. TCU (Wednesday), @ Kansas State (Saturday)
6 – Kansas State – 7-5
The Wildcats are in almost the exact same boat as Iowa State right now. Jerome Tang’s lost five of its last nine and hasn’t won a game on the road since Jan. 7 at Baylor. You have to wonder how much of these struggles (for KSU and ISU) can be attributed to coaches around the league getting a better feel for the scout on these two largely brand-new teams.
This week: @ Oklahoma (Tuesday), vs. Iowa State (Saturday)
7 – West Virginia – 4-8
The Mountaineers picked up arguably their best win of the season on Wednesday against Iowa State then promptly went on the road and got destroyed by the league’s best team. Bob Huggins’ team needs at least three more wins to solidify its spot in the NCAA Tournament. Luckily, three of their last six games are in Morgantown.
This week: @ Baylor (Monday), vs. Texas Tech (Saturday)
8 – TCU – 6-6
Is there a bigger bummer in sports than the injury bug? The Horned Frogs entered the year with the potential for a dream season, and it has been completely derailed by an inability to stay healthy. Preseason Big 12 player of the year Mike Miles has missed the last four games, and center Eddie Lampkin has played in only two of the last six. Jamie Dixon’s team has lost four of five as a result with the only win being by four points at home against West Virginia.
This week: @ Iowa State (Wednesday), vs. Oklahoma State (Saturday)
9 – Texas Tech – 2-10
After opening Big 12 play with eight-straight losses, Mark Adams’ squad has found something in its last four games. They’ve won three of those, including home wins over Iowa State (in overtime) and Kansas State this past Saturday. The win over Kansas State was very impressive as they held the Wildcats’ stars Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson to just 8-of-24 from the field, including a combined 2-of-14 from 3-point range.
This week: vs. Texas (Monday), @ West Virginia (Saturday)
10 – Oklahoma – 2-10
The Sooners haven’t just been losing during their current four-game streak. They’ve been getting their butts kicked with final margins of 10 points, 32 points, 10 points and 23 points. That makes their current stretch seven losses in their last eight games. Their only win is over the new No. 1 team in the nation, Alabama. Does it make any sense? Absolutely not, but that’s college basketball.
This week: vs. Kansas State (Tuesday), @ Texas (Saturday)
