Big 12 Rankings: Week of Jan. 18 - Jan. 24
1. No. 2 BAYLOR (17-0, 7-0) Last Rank (LR): 1
THIS WEEK: W 77-69 vs KU, W 81-66 @ OSU
No surprise here. No. 2 Baylor really is the best team in the country and continued to show that this week in handling No. 9 Kansas at home and unranked Oklahoma State on the road to remain undefeated.
If they really are elite, this week should feel like a breeze, with home games against Kansas State and then (9-7) Auburn for the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Every Big 12 team is scheduled to play an SEC team this week. However, because of the way things have been going, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one or two of the matchups postponed.
NEXT UP: vs KSU, vs AUB
2. No. 5 TEXAS (11-2, 5-1) LR: 2
THIS WEEK: N/A
Due to COVID-19 protocols, No. 5 Texas missed out on matchups with Iowa State and TCU this week.
Next, the Longhorns will invite in a hot Oklahoma team and then travel to Lexington to face (5-9) Kentucky.
NEXT UP: vs OU, @ UK
3. No. 18 TEXAS TECH (11-4, 3-2) LR: 3
THIS WEEK: N/A
Texas Tech was hit with pandemic protocol as well and were also unable to play scheduled games this week with Iowa State and TCU.
Coming up, the Red Raiders will take on a tough road stint to West Virginia and then to (10-4) LSU.
NEXT UP: @ WVU, @ LSU
4. OKLAHOMA (9-4, 5-3) LR: 7
THIS WEEK: W 76-50 vs KSU, W 75-68 vs KU
Oklahoma shot up the rankings this week with two impressive wins. First, they handed Kansas State its most convincing loss of the season, while following that up with a hard fought win over No. 9 Kansas.
They could either climb the ranking again next week or take a minor step back, depending how they handle their next two matchups. No. 5 Texas will be eager to get a win coming out of protocol, while No. 18 (13-3) Alabama is the top team in the SEC, currently.
NEXT UP: @ UT, vs ALA
5. OKLAHOMA STATE (8-3, 2-3) LR: 4
THIS WEEK: L 81-68 vs BU
The Cowboys played Baylor tough, especially in the first half. The Bears proved to be too much and overwhelmed an Oklahoma State team without freshman star Cade Cunningham.
The Cowboys' game earlier in the week against West Virginia was postponed.
They should get back in the win column, as they head to Ames to face an Iowa State team who hasn’t played a game in over two weeks. After that, Oklahoma State will invite in (12-4) Arkansas for what should be a good battle, but one where Oklahoma State will likely be favored.
NEXT UP: @ ISU, vs ARK
6. No. 14 WEST VIRGINIA (10-4, 3-3) LR: 6
THIS WEEK: W 69-47 @ KSU
Coming off of two weeks of no basketball, West Virginia jumped into the swing of things by taking on and dismantling a struggling K-State squad.
The competition stiffens up as they head back home to Morgantown and face Texas Tech and (8-4) Florida.
NEXT UP: vs TTU, vs FLA
7. No. 9 KANSAS (10-5, 4-4) LR: 5
THIS WEEK: L 77-69 @ BU, L 75-68 @ OU
Kansas continues to fall in the rankings, but probably won’t fall any further than this, admittedly.
It was a tough week against two good teams but the Jayhawks were unable to win either of their contests at Baylor or Oklahoma.
They can hang their hat on keeping the scores within single digits but their two game losing streak is exposing some serious flaws for Bill Self's bunch. Not having a legitimate point guard is one of them.
They should get back on track this upcoming week, but if they fall to TCU on Thursday, they will continue to plummet. A trip to Knoxville will be a really tough task against No.6 (10-3) Tennessee
NEXT UP: vs TCU, @ TENN
8. TCU (9-5, 2-4) LR: 8
THIS WEEK: N/A
TCU was slapped with two weeks straight of Covid-19 protocols.
Next up, they will take on Kansas at home and then head to Columbia for a matchup with No. 19 (10-2) Missouri.
NEXT UP: vs KU, @ MIZ
9. KANSAS STATE (5-11, 1-7) LR: 9
THIS WEEK: L 69-47 vs WVU
The Wildcats continued their historically bad season when they lost their sixth straight game. They were dogged in Bramlage by the Mountaineers.
The road gets tougher for Kansas State when they head to Waco to take on Baylor for the second time. They will finally get somewhat of a break, but still a test, when they invite (7-6) Texas A&M into Manhattan.
NEXT UP: @ BU, vs TA&M
10. IOWA STATE (2-7, 0-5) LR: 10
THIS WEEK: N/A
Another week of the season was lost for Iowa State due to Covid-19 protocols. More postponements occurred.
They will attempt to get the gears turning again by taking on Oklahoma State and then facing (9-7) Mississippi State on the road.
NEXT UP: vs OSU, @ MSST