1. Kansas (18-2, 7-1) (Last Week: 1) (Next: at Kentucky)
Sure, Kansas lost to West Virginia on Tuesday night, 85-69. The Jayhawks suffered their first conference loss. But the fact that KU’s loss was at West Virginia keeps them at the top for now.
2. Baylor (19-1, 7-1) (Last Week: 2) (Next: at Ole Miss)
Baylor got a good scare from Texas Tech but escaped the Red Raiders by four points at home. The Bears are an impressive team, but they’ll have to beat KU or hope for the Jayhawks to tumble if they want to take over the top spot.
3. West Virginia (16-4, 5-3) (Last Week: 3) (Next: Texas A&M)
After being upset by Kansas State, West Virginia looked to be on its way down the rankings. But the Mountaineers dominated KU on Tuesday to stay toward the top. They’ll have to start beating top teams if they want a chance at the Big 12 title.
4. Iowa State (13-6, 5-3) (Last Week: 7) (Next: at Vanderbilt)
After beating Oklahoma on Saturday and K-State on Tuesday, the Cyclones might have turned around their season that looked like it was not going well. Iowa State might cause some chaos in the conference this season.
5. Kansas State (15-5, 4-4) (Last Week: 4) (Next: at Tennessee)
The Wildcats played an excellent game to upset West Virginia on Saturday but follow that up with a lackluster performance at Iowa State. K-State is a good team but needs to be more consistent in order to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.
6. Texas Tech (14-6, 3-5) (Last Week: 5) (Next: LSU)
Texas Tech got smacked around by Oklahoma State on Saturday and then suffered a close loss to Baylor on Wednesday. The Red Raiders might be on the downfall with back-to-back losses.
7. TCU (14-6, 3-5) (Last Week: 6) (Next: Auburn)
TCU is in the same boat as Texas Tech when it comes to downward trends. The Horned Frogs dropped games to Baylor on Saturday and Oklahoma State on Monday. Time will tell if it will get worse for TCU.
8. Oklahoma State (12-8, 2-6) (Last Week: 9) (Next: Arkansas)
After an 0-6 start to conference play, the Cowboys have rattled off back-to-back wins over Texas Tech and TCU. It wasn’t against great competition, but it looks like Oklahoma State is going to be a competitive team as we near the second half of the Big 12 schedule.
9. Oklahoma (8-11, 2-6) (Last Week: 8) (Next: Florida)
Oklahoma dropped a home game to Iowa State and then was beat at the buzzer by Texas. It’s tough to fault a team for losing on a buzzer-beater, but Texas is struggling this season and Oklahoma probably should have never been in that position to lose.
10. Texas (8-12, 2-6) (Last Week: 10) (Next: at Georgia)
Texas battled KU in Lawrence, Kansas, and only lost by 12 points and then beat Oklahoma, but the doubts are still there. The Longhorns have been one of the worst teams in the conference this season without question. Maybe a win over the Sooners will turn it around. We will have to wait and see.
