Big 12 Men’s Basketball Power Rankings: Jayhawks Make First Appearance At The Top

Disclaimer: The rankings below are for the games played through Saturday, February 11. Midweek games played since Saturday will be reflected on next week’s Power Rankings.

Big 12 men’s basketball is a gauntlet. Every game can be crazy. On any given day, any team can beat any other team, as recent results have shown. Currently, six of the league’s ten teams are ranked in the Top 25. That means chances are every game each week has at least one ranked team playing, and many times, both teams will be ranked.

But which team is the best? How do the ten teams rank among themselves? We have brought together a group from across the league to vote each week during the season on the Big 12 Power Rankings. There are 21 participants in this group, which consists of the KillerFrogs editorial staff plus one or two fans from each of the other schools in the league. Each week, each participant provides their rankings 1-10. Those rankings are compiled, and the average rank is then listed below.

This week, last year’s national champion, Kansas, moved to the top spot in our Power Rankings, marking the first time for them to hold that spot this season. Baylor also had a big upswing, moving up three places to No. 3. With Kansas and Baylor moving up, that means some teams had to drop. Texas dropped to second. Iowa State dropped three spots to No. 5. TCU continued its steady slide down, moving down again one place to No. 6. Texas Tech moved up one spot. Oklahoma slid down one spot to now sit on the bottom. Only K-State, OSU, and WVU did not change week-over-week.

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

(Team records and AP Top 25 rank are as of 2/11/23; games since then were not considered when voters made their selection)

Big 12 Men’s Basketball Power Rankings

10. Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10)

Last week # 9

Oh, the poor Sooners. As our Sooners voter said when his Power Rankings were submitted this week, “Can we start doing a poll on Women's Softball or Gymnastics...we are credible in those. This really is getting quite ridiculous. Porter Waggoner better get his head coaching $h!t together. I am starting to question his hire,” making a reference that only someone from Oklahoma would probably understand.

9. Texas Tech (13-12, 2-10)

Last week # 10

Last week, Tech went 1-1, but the win was at home against then-No. 12 Kansas State. The Red Raiders have at least been hot at home lately, though they still are struggling on the road. The momentum, though, was enough to move them up one spot, marking the first time they are off the bottom this season.

8. West Virginia (15-10, 4-8)

Last week # 8

West Virginia got their fourth conference win last week with a ranked win at home over then-No. 11 Iowa State. They then traveled to Austin and got destroyed, losing by 34 points. They didn’t move this much in our power rankings, but they are making conversation in the Bracketology conversations and could be positioned to be the eighth team from the league to make the Big Dance this year.

7. Oklahoma State (16-9, 7-5)

Last week # 7

Despite a five-game win streak, the Pokes stayed right where they have been most of the season – No. 7. Though the margin between them and the Horned Frogs is very slim, and if TCU continues its losing streak, watch for these two to flip spots next week. OSU has definitely played itself into the tournament. They could be a spoiler down the stretch.

6. #17 TCU (17-8, 6-6)

Last week # 5

The Frogs went 0-2 last week with losses at Kansas State and home to Baylor. It’s a three-game slide going back to the week before with a loss to OSU. TCU desperately needs Mike Miles Jr and Eddie Lampkin Jr back in the lineup to salvage what could have been a great season.

5. #11 Iowa State (16-8, 7-5)

Last week # 2

The Cyclones also went 0-2 last week with a road loss at West Virginia and a home loss to OSU. They’ve lost four of their previous five games and six of their last nine games. They have not won consecutive games since January 7 and 10. Cyclones and Frogs meet this week, so at least one team’s losing streak will end.

4. #12 Kansas State (19-6, 7-5)

Last week # 4

Here’s another team that started out strong but has slipped lately. They went 1-1 last week with a 21-point win over TCU at home, followed by a loss at Texas Tech. The week before, the Cats went 0-2 and 1-1 the week before that. They last won consecutive games on January 17 and 21. There seems to be a trend here with the teams in the middle of the pack right now.

3. #14 Baylor (19-6, 8-4)

Last week # 6

After starting 0-3 in conference play, the Bears have gotten hot at the right time. They’ve only lost one game since those first three, and that was a 5-point loss in Austin. Scott Drew has this team headed in the right direction. They will be making some noise in Kansas City at the Big 12 tourney and then into the Big Dance.

2. #5 Texas (20-5, 9-3)

Last week # 1

Texas went 1-1 last week with an 8-point loss in Lawrence, then a 34-point blowout at home against West Virginia. They slipped down to No. 2 in this week’s poll, but the margin between them and Kansas is very thin. Those two teams end the regular season in a couple of weeks in Austin. Buckle up, folks. This is getting good.

1. #9 Kansas (20-5, 8-4)

Last week # 3

Last week, the Jayhawks went 2-0 and now see themselves sharing the top of the standings. Bill Self seems to have made the corrections after last year’s national champions went on an 0-3 slide last month.

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

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