How Far Houston Dropped In Week 12 AP Poll Following Loss at Texas Tech
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Challenges of travel amid winter storm conditions might already be punishing enough for the Houston Cougars after suffering their first Big 12 loss of 2025-26 at the hands of Texas Tech in a rematch at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Saturday.
Limited minutes between junior forward Joseph Tugler and freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr., mixed with Houston's lack of guard rebounding and a flurry of corner triples from senior guard Donovan Atwell, spoiled the Cougars' greatest freshman performance in program history from a winning effort in guard Kingston Flemings' 42 points.
While a drop might've been in play for Houston in the Week 12 AP Poll, the Cougars were not severely punished for a competitive loss in which they managed to stay within the top 10 for the 23rd consecutive week.
.@mercymiller25, @korrdel & @UHouston in latest national rankings
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 26, 2026
Coogs in AP Top 10 for 23rd consecutive week, Top 25 for 118th straight week@AP_Top25 – https://t.co/1cQUVKmTfG@usatodaysports – https://t.co/Mfkgwp9Htj#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/ZgUVQDXT1x
Nowhere near was Houston's long-standing top 25 streak in danger, as a three-spot drop isn't significant in the wrong way considering the difficulties of life on the road in the Big 12.
In the case of winning at home in the Big 12, while the 90-86 win on Saturday helped move the Red Raiders up one spot in the poll, it was not enough to help them into the top 10. It might've been a different case if the results were swapped by site of play.
While Houston may not have been punished severely by poll voters for its loss, one shakeup in return that propelled an upcoming Big 12 opponent back in front of it raised some eyebrows, considering past results.
Iowa State ahead of Houston, yet behind in Big 12 standings
While Houston suffered only its first Big 12 loss of the season and snapped a 16-game road winning streak dating back to the 2023-24 season, voters elected to give Iowa State a one-spot jump to No. 8 and in front of the Cougars after the Cyclones completed a 2-0 week with wins over UCF and on the road at Oklahoma State.
BREAKING: College Basketball AP Poll🚨https://t.co/4Fe0B56KVE pic.twitter.com/fse1wIUWLN
— On3 (@On3) January 26, 2026
However, the Cyclones still sit half a game back of Houston in the Big 12 standings, having suffered back-to-back conference losses, both by much larger margins than the Cougars, whose losses came by no more than two possessions.
While no one should discredit Iowa State's bounce-back week, it was the only raised eyebrow of the Week 12 poll release considering the margin and separation between Houston's losses. While a road win is hard to come by in the Big 12, the case could be made for severity and strength of wins or losses to define one's stance among the national rankings.
But it's simply being in the Big 12 for Houston that makes its AP ranking not matter as much as its stance in the NET, where the Cougars, at 4-2 in Quad 1 games, have six more of those opportunities coming up in league play to help bolster their resume and get a favorable seeding position for the NCAA tournament.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.