1. No. 2 BAYLOR (17-0, 9-0) Last Rank (LR): 1
THIS WEEK: W 83-69 @ UT
Baylor was hit with some Covid-19 difficulties this week, but it happened after they went down to Austin and beat Texas team by double-digits. The Baylor Bears haven't changed and they stay atop the Big 12 and truly are a top two team in the country. They are undefeated and elite.
NEXT UP: vs TTU
2. No. 13 TEXAS TECH (14-5, 6-4) LR: 4
THIS WEEK: W 57-52 vs OU, W 73-62 @ KSU
Besides Baylor, the top half of the league has been shaken up this week. Texas Tech knocked off a tough Oklahoma team that sat in the number two spot in these power rankings a week ago.
The Red Raiders then took care of business in Manhattan, Kansas when they took down a struggling Kansas State team by 11.
Mac McClung's 17.2 points per game is second-best in the league behind Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham. Texas Tech has hit their stride and have been playing some really good basketball the last few weeks.
NEXT UP: vs WVU, @ BU
3. No. 9Â OKLAHOMA (12-5, 7-4) LR: 2
THIS WEEK: L 57-52 @ TTU, W 79-72 vs ISU
Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech early in the week but bounced back and defeated Iowa State at home on Saturday. It wasn't a convincing win, though, against the Big 12's last place team.
They will have to wait another week to play as the Sooners game with Baylor was postponed, meaning they will have to travel to Morgantown to take on a good West Virginia team next weekend.
Everyone is back for the Sooners after they performed admirably while Austin Reaves and Brady Manek dealt with the virus at different times in the last month. It might take a good week of practice to get back fully into the groove.
NEXT UP: @ WVU
4. OKLAHOMA STATE (12-5, 5-5) LR: 5
THIS WEEK: L 81-78 @ TCU, W 75-67 vs UT
Oklahoma State surprisingly fell to a sub-par TCU team on the road. The Cowboys redeemed themselves by defeating Texas in a really good game that finished in overtime.
Mike Boynton's team has remained in the mix of the top half of the league and clipping the Longhorns solidifies them at number four this week.
NEXT UP: @ KU, vs KSU
5. No. 6 TEXAS (11-5, 5-4) LR: 3
THIS WEEK: L 83-69 vs BU, L 75-67 @ OSU
Texas has sputtered recently and it was their worst week yet. It was against two other top five teams in the league, but they have been trending down for a couple weeks. Next up should be a nice change of pace with matchups with K-State and TCU.
NEXT UP: @ KSU, vs TCU
6. No. 17 WEST VIRGINIA (13-5, 6-3) LR: 6
THIS WEEK: W 76-72 @ ISU, vs W 91-79 vs KU
West Virginia barely snuck past Iowa State in Ames and then won convincingly against a sputtering Kansas team by double-digits at home.
The next slate gives them a great opportunity to prove themselves worthy of moving up in the rankings, but it won't be easy to beat Texas Tech in Lubbock or Oklahoma at home.
NEXT UP: @ TTU, vs OU
7. No. 23 KANSAS (12-7, 6-5) LR: 7
THIS WEEK: W 74-51 vs KSU, L 91-79 @ WVU
The Jayhawks did what they needed to do against Kansas State in Lawrence (although shaky in the first half), beating the Wildcats by 23. However, West Virginia brought them back down to earth in Morgantown.
NEXT UP: vs OSU, vs ISU
8. TCU (10-7, 3-5) LR: 8
THIS WEEK: W 81-78 vs OSU
TCU could move up one spot in the rankings in the coming weeks depending how things shake out. They escaped a competitive game versus Oklahoma State in Fort Worth, and luckily for them, missed a matchup with Baylor due to the Bears' Covid-19 complications.
NEXT UP: vs ISU, @ UT
9. KANSAS STATE (5-15, 1-10) LR: 9
THIS WEEK: L 74-51 @ KU, L 73-62 TTU
Kansas State is so close to dropping to the 10th spot because Iowa State has narrowly missed getting a conference win time and time again.
The Wildcats got crushed in Lawrence and lost its 10th straight game when they fell to Texas Tech by 11 on Saturday. Against the Red Raiders, it was a better effort from Bruce Weber's bunch, but even with that relatively better performance, they still got dumped by double-digits.
NEXT UP: vs UT, @ OSU
10. IOWA STATE (2-11, 0-8) LR: 10
THIS WEEK: L 76-72 vs WVU, L 79-72 @ OU
This was an intriguing week for the Big 12's only winless team in the conference. They played both teams against AP top-17 teams and came out with a total margin of defeat of 11 points.
The Cyclones played West Virginia the toughest in Ames and held tough throughout against Oklahoma in Norman.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Iowa State is able to swap positions with K-State in both the conference standings and these power rankings by the end of the season.
There's chatter that the Iowa State at Kansas State game that was originally scheduled for January will indeed be made up before the Big 12 tournament.
NEXT UP: @ TCU, @ KU
