College basketball season is officially underway today, so here are the preseason standings according to the EMAW Online Staff.

Mason: 1 | Alec: 2 | Gabe: 1

Mason: Kansas is Kansas and last I checked, no one has consistently knocked them off the throne, so they will continue to be my choice to win the league. Wichita native and incoming freshman Gradey Dick will try to find his footing with veteran Jalen Wilson to help Kansas this season.

Mason: 2 | Alec: 1 | Gabe: 2

Alec: Led by the best guards in the conference – and arguably the country – Baylor appears primed to make a run at a third consecutive Big 12 title and a potential No. 1 seed under Scott Drew. Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer are both experienced in the backcourt and freshman Keyonte George is freakishly talented, and my bet for Big 12 Freshman of the Year. The frontcourt has some depth questions, especially with Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua still recovering from a knee injury he sustained in the NCAA Tournament. But Flo Thamba returns and he’s still a solid option.

Mason: 3 | Alec: 3 | Gabe: 3

Gabe: Texas should be one of the best defensive teams in the country and is the No. 1 team in adjusted defensive efficiency in KenPom’s rankings. The Longhorns have six seniors and are a veteran group alongside sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter, who transferred in-conference from Iowa State to Texas.

Mason: 4 | Alec: 4 | Gabe: 4

Mason: Mike Miles is getting a lot of preseason love and his team is riding the coattails of a near second-round upset of No. 1 seed Arizona in last year's NCAA Tournament. I put the Frogs fourth because I can't come up with a better team to be ahead of them, but Jamie Dixon has a lot to prove. TCU has never finished above .500 in conference play, their best record is 9-9 and they were 8-10 a season ago. They return a lot, but I am skeptical they can live up to the high expectations.

Mason: 5 | Alec: 5 | Gabe: 5

Alec: Texas Tech lost two marquee transfers this offseason Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois) and Kevin McCullar (Kansas), but Mark Adams’ team is still expected to compete near the top of the Big 12 in 2022-23 and that’s because they are going to guard. De’Vion Harmon comes in from Oregon and has a career 35 percent 3-point shot. Kerwin Walton comes from North Carolina and he shot 42 percent from three. Last season, Tech became a bit anemic to watch offensively because of their shooting woes. This season, Adams built his team with more shooters to join Kevin Obanor – the lone returning starter.

Mason: 6 | Alec: 9 | Gabe: 6

Gabe: Oklahoma is a lock NCAA tournament team in my book. Porter Moser is a quality coach who elevates talent and probably out-performed expectations last season. I think Tanner Groves is going to average 15 and 7 this season, and the Sooners will be one of the most experienced teams in the league with seniors Jalen Hill and Grant Sherfield on the roster as well. Anytime your three best players are all seniors in the Big 12 I’ll generally believe in you to outperform expectations.

Mason: 8 | Alec: 8 | Gabe: 7

Alec: Iowa State was the surprise of the Big 12 last season, and they might be again this season, but there are also reasons to this otherwise. The Cyclones need to be able to score easy buckets, and that’s something they could struggle with after losing Iziah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter. But the St. Bonaventure guard transfer duo Jaren Holmes and Osun Osunniyi is dynamic. This team is going to be good defensively and force loads of turnovers. But like a lot of other Big 12 teams, will they score enough?

Mason: 9 | Alec: 6 | Gabe: 9

Mason: Mike Boynton needs to do something without Cade Cunningham before I believe in the Cowboys. They never know hot play offense and are scrappy enough to win some games they shouldn't, but are not a refined enough basketball team. Boynton's success recruiting also dipped last season, as the Cowboys had the 95th class in the country with Quion Williams being their lone freshman coming in.

Mason: 7 | Alec: 10 | Gabe: 8

Gabe: Jerome Tang arrived in Manhattan with a relatively empty cupboard and a need to go shopping in the portal. He did and found plenty, with Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson appearing to be his biggest get. The greatest question for the Wildcats is whether Markquis Nowell is capable of being the best guard on a Big 12 team. If he’s not, and Desi Sills doesn’t wildly exceed expectations, the K-State offense will struggle to find great success. If he does, the Wildcats could be a bubble team.

Mason: 10 | Alec: 7 | Gabe: 10

Mason: The Mountaineers have been trending down in recent years and they don't have the guard play needed to win. They lost Jalen Bridges to Baylor and are going to rely on Emmitt Matthews to be the leading returner. Bob Huggins will also turn to a heavy rotation of transfer players like Erik Stevenson (Wichita State, Washington, South Carolina), Joe Toussaint (Iowa) and Tre Mitchell (Texas).