Where Houston Cougars Stand After First Weekend of Big 12 Action

The Houston Cougars are in a good position going into their second Big 12 game, but where are they compared to the rest of the conference?

Dec 20, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson reacts during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Too many good matchups on the opening weekend of Big 12 basketball.

Houston took on Cincinnati. Baylor traveled to TCU. Kansas visited UCF, and Texas Tech hosted Oklahoma State.

With seven teams in the top 25 of college basketball, that number will likely grow as the season moves on, as there are too many quality teams playing tremendous basketball at the right time.

For the Cougars, they handled business on the road at the Fifth Third Arena with a 67-60 win to travel back to the Fertitta Center with a huge contest against Texas Tech. How did the rest of the Big 12 do this past weekend, and what is ahead on the schedule for the Cougars?

Big 12 Standings

13-1 overall
1-0 in Big 12

On to the next one...

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There are 16 total teams in the Big 12 conference. Eight of them are 1-0 now in conference play, while the other half are 0-1. Houston stands on the winning side of things, but runs into a tricky opponent coming up. How are all of the opponents that coach Kelvin Sampson’s team plays?

For now, the Arizona Bearcats are the best team in the Big 12, ranked No. 1 in the nation at 14-0. Right on their rear are the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones, who are also 14-0 but haven’t received enough votes and credit to have bragging rights, but won their first conference game of the 2025-26 campaign.

Tied with an overall record of 13-1 right now are the No. 7 Houston Cougars and No. 9 BYU Cougars, who have some work to do to catch up but are also 1-0 in the Big 12. They’ll meet later in the year. The only 12-1 school to start out is the UCF Knights, which won its first conference game too.

Only three other teams currently have a 1-0 record in the Big 12. One of those teams is the Colorado Buffaloes, who have jumped out to a surprising start to the season with an 11-3 record. Another team in the same category is the TCU Horned Frogs at 11-3, while the last of that group is the 11-3 Texas Tech Red Raiders, ranked No. 14 in the nation.

In the lower half of the standings, with a conference loss, the unranked Baylor Bears, who opened Big 12 play with a disappointing loss, are 10-3. Joining them in the 10-win category is the Kansas Jayhawks, who are also unranked and are No. 22 despite being 10-4.

Five teams in the conference are left, and the Arizona State Sun Devils are next in line with the Kansas State Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers at 9-5. At the bottom of the bucket are the Cincinnati Bearcats and Utah Utes, who are not off to starts that were planned with 8-6 records.

Cougars’ Schedule

Going into Tuesday night's game, Houston will still play every team at least one more time, including another game against an opponent it saw to open the season, this time at the Fertitta Center.

In the next month, Sampson’s squad draws Baylor, West Virginia, Arizona State, Texas Tech, TCU and Cincinnati.

Looking at the Quadrant wins, Quad 1 wins for the Cougars came with two wins and one loss to Tennessee. In Quads 2 and 3, the Cougars have a 3-0 record in each, while in Quad 4, it is 5-0. Many opportunities remain to continue building the resume and possibly earn that No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so earning quality wins at home and on the road still matter.