Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Week 12 - Houston Jumps Ahead of Iowa State

Looking at where each men's basketball team sits in the Big 12 Conference.
TCU's Vasean Allette in the loss to Utah on January 15.  The loss moved TCU down one spot in this week's Power Rankings.
TCU's Vasean Allette in the loss to Utah on January 15. The loss moved TCU down one spot in this week's Power Rankings. / Brian McLean - On Assignment Photo/TCU Horned Frogs On SI
In this story:

Disclaimer: The rankings below are for the games played through Sunday, January 19. Midweek games played since Sunday will be reflected on next week’s Power Rankings.

Big 12 Men's Basketball is roughly one-third the way through conference play. Iowa State, the team that debuted last week in our weekly Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings, suffered their first conference loss at West Virginia. Now, only Houston is undefeated in conference play. As a result, we now see the Cougars bumping ahead of the Cyclones in this week's rankings.

Colorado once again comes in at No. 16 this week. However, Kansas State narrowed the gap. Next week's rankings may reflect that.

The middle of the pack is tight. Five teams are separated by less than 1.5 average points in the log jam from Nos. 8-12.

How Power Rankings Are Determined

We have brought together a group from across the league to vote on the Big 12 Power Rankings each week during the season.

  • 20 Total Participants
  • TCU FanNation (KillerFrogs) Editorial Staff (9) - this represents about half of our staff
  • One to two fans from many of the Big 12 current schools (11); we are still searching for volunteers from the schools not represented to participate each week.

Each week, each participant provides their rankings 1-16. Those rankings are compiled, and the average rank is then listed below. For the most part, our voters are not considering this week's midweek games. However, some may have considered those games depending on when their votes were submitted.

Here's where our panel of voters ranked the teams this week:

2025 Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings – Week 12 (week of January 20)

Here are our Week 12 Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings, as voted on by our group of sports journalists and fans representing many of the 16 teams in the conference. What did this week tell us? It told us that Houston and Iowa State will battle until early March for the top spot and that Colorado, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State are seeing who can avoid being the bottom team.

Week 12 Power Rankings Highlights

  • Houston jumped ahead of Iowa State for the No. 1 spot.
  • Iowa State, though, did also receive first-place votes.
  • Colorado remains the No. 16 team in our Power Rankings.
  • Kansas State and Oklahoma State also received last-place votes.
  • Utah made the biggest move, moving up three spots. Other teams that moved up week-over-week include Houston (1), Texas Tech (1), and UCF (1).
  • Arizona State dropped the most of all teams, moving down two spots. Other teams that dropped down just one spot include Baylor, BYU, Iowa State, and TCU.
  • Seven teams remained the same as last week - Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia.
  • This week, three teams had six or more spots between their highest and lowest ranking - Arizona State(6), Baylor (6), and UCF (7).
  • Houston and Iowa State had the lowest fluctuation (1) between their highest and lowest rankings.

(Team records and AP Top 25 rank are as of 1/19/25; games since then were not considered when voters made their selection)

16. Colorado (9-8, 0-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 16
Highest Ranking: #14
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost to Cincinnati 62-68; Lost to Oklahoma State 73-83

15. Kansas State (7-10, 1-5)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 15
Highest Ranking: #12
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost at #2 Iowa State 57-74; Lost to #9 Kansas 74-84

14. Oklahoma State (10-7, 2-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 14
Highest Ranking: #12
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost at BYU 69-85; Beat Colorado 83-73

13. Utah (11-6, 3-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 13
Highest Ranking: #11
Lowest Ranking: #14
Last Week: Beat TCU 73-65; Beat BYU 73-72 OT

12. Cincinnati (12-5, 2-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 12
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Beat Colorado 68-62; Beat Arizona State 67-60

13. Arizona State (10-7, 1-5)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 11
Highest Ranking: #9
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Lost to UCF 89-95; Lost at Cincinnati 60-67

11. BYU (11-6, 2-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 10
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #12
Last Week: Beat Oklahoma State 85-69; Lost at Utah 72-73 OT

8. UCF (12-5, 3-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 9
Highest Ranking: #7
Lowest Ranking: #14
Last Week: Beat Arizona State 95-89; Lost to #10 Houston 68-69

9. TCU (10-7, 3-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 8
Highest Ranking: #7
Lowest Ranking: #12
Last Week: Lost to Utah 65-73; beat Baylor 74-71

6. Texas Tech (13-4, 4-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 7
Highest Ranking: #3
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Beat Kansas State 61-57; Beat Arizona 70-54

7. #25 Baylor (11-6, 3-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 6
Highest Ranking: #4
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Lost at Arizona 70-81; Lost to TCU 71-74

5. West Virginia (13-4, 4-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 5
Highest Ranking: #3
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Lost at #10 Houston 54-70; Beat #2 Iowa State 64-57

4. Arizona (11-6, 5-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 4
Highest Ranking: #3
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Beat #25 Baylor 81-70; Lost at Texas Tech 54-70

3. #9 Kansas (13-4, 4-2)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 3
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #6
Last Week: Lost at #2 Iowa State 57-64; Beat Kansas State 84-74

1. #10 Houston (14-3, 6-0)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 2
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #2
Last Week: Beat West Virginia 70-54; Beat UCF 69-68

2. #2 Iowa State (15-2, 5-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 1
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #2
Last Week: Beat #9 Kansas 74-57; lost at West Virginia 57-64

Note: Power Rankings are determined by a group of fans representing most schools in the Big 12 Conference.


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Published
Barry Lewis
BARRY LEWIS

Barry is the managing editor/publisher of TCU Horned Frogs On SI and oversees a team of 15+ writers, photographers, and podcasters covering all 22 of TCU’s sports. He writes on football, basketball (men’s and women’s), baseball, men’s tennis, and other sports as needed. His weekly articles include Big 12 Power Rankings and Poll Watching during the football, basketball, and baseball seasons. He is a frequent guest on one of the many podcasts that TCU Horned Frogs On SI writers host covering football, baseball, basketball, and other sports. Barry is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He has represented TCU Horned Frogs On SI at the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, the 2023 College Football National Championship, the 2023 College World Series, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis National Championship, Big 12 Football Media Days, and Big 12 Basketball Media Days. Barry has followed TCU sports since the Jim Wacker days. He is an avid sports fan and traveler, and he loves any opportunity to see a sporting event in person. He has been to 18 of the 30 MLB ballparks, experienced game day at 25 college football stadiums, seen 21 NFL stadiums, and been to 16 bowl games.