Houston Pushing For First Slot In Big 12 Standings

The Cougars are chugging along as the conference slate rolls along with a shot at claiming the No. 1 seed for the Big 12 Tournament.

Feb 10, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Players on the Houston Cougars bench react after a play against the Utah Utes during the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

If the season ended today, Houston would be in second place, right behind Arizona.

However, that is only because neither school has played each other yet this season, and that contest will be determined soon as the Cougars draw the Wildcats at the Fertitta Center on February 21 at 2 p.m. on ABC.

Odds are in favor of head coach Kelvin Sampson’s team because they are at home, but that doesn’t mean Arizona could escape with a colossal win that might matter on Selection Sunday.

Right behind those two teams are a bunch of quality opponents trying to do everything in their power to catch the hunted rather than be the hunters. Up for Houston are three ranked opponents. If those all go down as victories, the rest of the regular season should be easier to make a statement.

Big 12 Standings Chaos

2️⃣2️⃣-2️⃣ overall
9️⃣-1️⃣ in @Big12Conference

On to the next one...

Presented by @Group1Auto #ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/d2kzWlZdId

— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) February 12, 2026

Besides Houston and Arizona, the margin of error is really slim right now because of the way both clubs are starting to heat up. Arizona and Houston are both 10-1 in the conference, but Arizona has a 23-1 record while Houston is 22-2.

On their tails is No. 9 Kansas, which holds a 9-2 conference record and still has Houston and Arizona down the line. Then, there is No. 5 Iowa State, which started out looking like one of the most dominant programs in the nation but quickly fell to 8-3 when league play started. Then, the only 8-3 left in the conference is Texas Tech, which has split the season series with Houston.

The only remaining ranked team in the group is No. 22 BYU, which has a 6-5 conference record along with two other schools. Those two teams are UCF and West Virginia. Then, only two teams have five wins in the league: TCU and Cincinnati.

A trio of teams has four losses, including Oklahoma State, Colorado and Arizona State. At 3-9 is Baylor, followed by the two last-place teams, Kansas State and Utah, both at 1-10.

No matter what happens, there are so many teams with an opportunity to win the Big 12 Tournament, which starts on March 10 and concludes on March 14.

What’s Left for the Cougars

Seven games remain. Of those contests, there are four left at home for the Cougars and three left on the road.

The three road games are against Iowa State, Kansas, and Oklahoma State. At home, the opponents are Kansas State, Arizona, Colorado, and Baylor.

Between those seven schools, three are ranked. The Wildcats are No. 1, the Jayhawks are No. 9, and the Cyclones are No. 5 in the nation.

Lots of Quadrant 1 opportunities and cases to be made if all those games left on the schedule can be counted as wins. Handle business, and the Cougars are going to be in first place.