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Big 12 Basketball Week 6 Power Rankings: A New No. 1 – Heartland College Sports

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9 months ago

December 19, 2023

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The Big 12 men’s basketball season is now six weeks old and we’re less than three weeks away from the start of the conference slate on Jan. 6.
A big Saturday of games, which included some of the best teams in the Big 12 in action, helped shake up the power rankings just a little bit.
After six weeks, we present our latest Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings for the 2023-24 season.
1. Houston (11-0) – Last Week — 2
2. Kansas (10-1) – Last Week — 3
3. Oklahoma (10-0) – Last Week — 4
4. Baylor (9-1) – Last Week — 1
5. Texas (8-2) – Last Week — 6
6. BYU (10-1) – Last Week — 5
The tier got crowded this week and there’s movement throughout. Houston moves up to No. 1. For those who are in the “Houston hasn’t played anyone crowd,” well the Cougars have four Quad 1 wins per NCAA NET (4-0) and Kansas has three (3-1). That, plus Houston’s No. 1 ranking in NET overall is the tiebreaker here. Yes, Houston hasn’t played a Top 25 team. But they’re playing quality teams and if you watched the Texas A&M game, you know that defense is Big 12 ready. Plus, before last week, A&M was in the Top 25. Not Houston’s fault they fell.
Kansas got a great win in their first true road game against Indiana. As for Baylor, the Bears fell to No. 4 after laying an egg against Michigan State. Had that been a closer game, I would have kept them ahead of undefeated Oklahoma. But Baylor was uncompetitive and that’s something OU hasn’t been yet this season.
Texas slides back onto the first tier after a dominant win over LSU and getting Dylan Disu back from injury is a big boost for the Longhorns. He paid off immediately. Texas has recovered nicely from its two losses to UConn and Marquette. BYU, after that loss to Utah, bounced back with two mid-major wins. But the Cougars only have one Quad 1 win to this point. They remain on the first tier.
Much of this will get equalized once Big 12 play starts on Jan. 6. Seeing high major opponents twice a week is going to provide more separation. But as we prepare for the holidays, this could be the first tier for the next two power rankings.
7. Iowa State (9-2) – Last Week — 7
8. TCU (8-1) – Last Week — 8
9. Cincinnati (8-2) – Last Week — 9
10. Texas Tech (8-2) – Last Week — 11
If any team jumps from Tier 2 to Tier 1 in the near term it’s Iowa State, which continues to put forth dominant performances against the teams it should be pounding. It’s helped them move into the Top 10 in NET. But, the Cyclones lost against the only Quad 1 team it’s faced and is 2-1 against Quad 2 teams.
If there is any team I worry about on this tier it’s Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have a solid NET rating (Top 65) but they’ve lost both of their Quad 1 opportunities and the season-ending injury to Devan Cambridge really puts them in a position where they need to find more scoring and rebounding from other sources.
10. Kansas State (8-3) – Last Week — 10
12. UCF (6-3) – Last Week — 12
13. Oklahoma State (5-5) – Last Week — 13
14. West Virginia (4-6) – Last Week — 14
Kansas State drops from Tier 2 to Tier 3 because of the loss to Nebraska. Honestly, that sort of a loss at home — by 16 points and only scoring 46 points — is the kind of loss that makes one worried about the team’s future, especially after the Nae’Qwan Tomlin drama.
West Virginia got its two transfers back, along with Kerr Kriisa from his NCAA suspension, and then lost to UMass by eight points. Kriisa played great, as did transfer Noah Farrakhan. As for RaeQuan Battle, he was sick and unable to play.
The Mountaineers have a couple of more games to work out their new rotation. They may get a boost from this. But it didn’t help them in the here and now and they remain at the bottom of the power rankings for another week.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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