Big 12 Power Rankings: Kansas Stumbles in Norman but Still No. 1 … For Now

It took a complete collapse at the charity stripe from Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike to seal an OU comeback on Tuesday night inside the Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sooners won 85-80 over the first-place Jayhawks and sealed their biggest win of the season in the process, further muddying up a conference race that, at this time last week, looked like it was trending KU for yet another season. Now the race appears to be open again.

Despite the L, though, I’ve still got Kansas at No. 1 in the power rankings this week. If only because KU is still tops in the Big 12 standings, has only taken one road loss, and has a charmin soft schedule over the next few weeks that indicates a bounceback is in order.

1. Kansas

A 70-67 win over Baylor in Lawrence this week was … not pretty. But it got the job done, and kept Kansas in sole possession of the top spot in the league standings. Even with a loss to OU on the road Tuesday, it still has the best league record. So I’m chalking this slip-up to the Big 12 being an absolute nightmare conference to play in on the road. For now.

2. West Virginia

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: West Virginia had a shot to tighten up the conference race this week but, a day before Kansas fell, the Mountaineers did, too.

Stunner!

Still yet, WVU is 5-3 in the league, it destroyed Texas on Saturday, and has all the roster goods to make a push for the crown.

3. Oklahoma

Trae Young took on a new role on Tuesday as a pass-first player who shot only when necessary, and Oklahoma kindly rewarded his efforts by shooting the lights out as a team. The Sooners can win a number of different ways, and might be the most dangerous NCAA Tournament team in the league. A loss to OSU in Bedlam has them at No. 3 this week, though, even despite a massive win over KU.

4. Texas Tech

I was ready to drop Texas Tech like a hotcake in the Power Rankings this week, but Oklahoma State, God bless ’em, blew a 16-point second half lead to the Red Raiders in Lubbock on Tuesday to keep them in the hunt.

Chris Beard’s team hasn’t been the same since Zach Smith went down, though, and without him they are a middle of the pack team within the league. I expect them to struggle until he returns, if he does.

5. Kansas State

Shouts to Bruce Weber. After losing Kamau Stokes, I wrote a eulogy on the Wildcats and their NCAA tournament hopes. But since then, they’ve actually been a better team thanks to the meteoric rise of Cartier Diarra.

K-State has three straight wins over OU, TCU and Baylor, and has a shot to get revenge on Kansas next Monday at the Octagon of Doom.

6. TCU

TCU finally played like the team prognosticators expected it to be on Monday by topping West Virginia in Fort Worth. It needs to continue to play at a high level moving forward and with OSU, Texas Tech and Kansas on deck, realistically, two wins out of those three games will put the Horned Frogs on a course to make the Big Dance. I think they’ve got nine wins in them.

7. Texas

The Longhorns roller coaster is semi-nauseating. Since league play, they’ve alternated between wins and losses and stumbled into a 4-4 Big 12 record, with just one road win to show for it. The schedule over the next two weeks will put Shaka Smart’s squad to the test.

8. Oklahoma State

SadEmoji.GIF.

That’s basically how I felt after seeing OSU squander a double-digit lead against Texas Tech on the road. The Pokes need to steal a win and protect home court to have a shot at getting into the postseason, and right now, they’re just not a very good road team.

9. Baylor

The schedule has been none too kind for Baylor this season, but the Bears aren’t doing themselves any favors. They’ve fallen from ranked earlier this season to a team that very well might have played its way out of the NCAA Tournament, barring a quick turnaround.

10. Iowa State

It’s entirely feasible to think Iowa State might win just one more game for the remainder of the regular season. The Cyclones just flat out aren’t very good on either side of the ball right now. They’ve got about three quality players and the rest are bit pieces who, really, are just too young to be relied on right now.