Citing Houston's play, ESPN basketball expert ranks Big 12 his No. 2 power conference
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High-level play by Houston and some other Big 12 teams definitely caught the attention from one prominent ESPN basketball expert.
Joe Lunardi, who is chiefly known for his “Bracketology” in projecting the field for the NCAA Tournament, wrote an article Wednesday on ESPN+ listing his top five power conferences during the current 2024-25 season. He has the Big 12 ranked second, coming in behind only the SEC.
Lunardi added in his rankings that he expects the Big 12 to get eight projected bids to the NCAA’s, and that the average seed is 5.2.
“Any league in which Kansas, the preseason No. 1 team in the land, is the fifth team into a projected bracket is an awfully good league,” Lunardi wrote.
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He also went on to mention that the conference’s expansion the past couple of years, most notably the additions of traditional powers Houston and Arizona, have helped alleviate the loss of flagship schools Oklahoma and Texas, both of which moved on to the SEC.
“It’s also telling that arguably the two best teams - Houston in 2024 and Arizona in 2025 - came in via those expansions,” Lunardi said. “What they’ve added to the Kansas-Baylor-Iowa State nucleus has more than compensated for the loss of foundational programs Oklahoma and Texas.”
In addition, Lunardi gave high praise to the Cougars, who are ranked No. 6 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls and are ranked high on various college basketball analytics websites.
“Houston, in particular, is on a five-year heater, with the metrics to match,” Lunardi said. “The current Cougars are No. 1 in Bart Torvik’s rankings, No. 2 in the BPI and No. 3 for both KenPom and NET. Three of their four losses have come in overtime.”
In concluding his assessment of the Big 12, Lunardi noted the chances of Houston getting to the Final Four remain a high possibility.
“Either (Houston or Arizona) or both could reach a Final Four - as could Iowa State, Texas Tech or the aforementioned Jayhawks,” Lunardi said. “The Big 12 will likely fall a bid or two behind the Big Ten in overall NCAA teams, but those teams will stick around longer. That’s why it gets the nod as our No. 2 conference.”
Big 12 basketball power rankings: No. 1 Houston earned league's lone weekend road win
Lunardi listed the Big Ten as his No. 3 power conference team, with the Big East coming in fourth and the ACC fifth.
Houston (20-4, 12-1), which has won 16 of its last 17 ballgames, is in first place in the Big 12 by a game over Arizona following the Cougars’ 76-65 win at home Monday against Baylor and Arizona’s loss at Kansas State the next night.
This Saturday, Houston travels to Arizona for an afternoon showdown to determine first place in the conference. It will be the lone regular-season contest between both schools.
