All right, I’ll admit I felt a little stupid after Kansas thumped Iowa State by 29 to start the Big 12 slate. After all, it was yours truly that called the Jayhawks an “embarrassment to the Big 12” when they were 3-3 to start the season.

Since then they have reeled off 11 wins in their last 13 games, including Monday night’s “upset” of Texas.

Kansas is as hot as any team in the nation right now.

So is Texas.

And the Cowboys of Oklahoma State … well, any true ISU fan saw first-hand last night how well they’re playing.

Now, in true sportswriter’s fashion, I will make an about-face and blabber on and on about the strength of the Jayhawks, as well as the rest of the Big 12. It’s not just the aforementioned teams. In fact, it’s the first-place team through the 10th-place team that I feel are dangerous.

The Big 12 posted the best non-conference winning percentage of all the major conferences heading into league play — more than 90 percent.

That’s as impressive as it gets.

Meanwhile, one coach in the Big Ten has come out with the “parity excuse,” which goes something like this: “Our teams are so good that it’s a given that we’ll beat up on each other and there will be no clear champion.”

The Big Ten had four champions last season, with Wisconsin … that’s right, the Badgers, Ohio State, Illinois and Indiana all getting a share of the title with an 11-5 league record.

That’s not parity, that’s mediocrity.

Teams from the Big Ten beat up on each other because none of them have a good enough team to rise to the top; none of them are able to withstand the wrath of cellar-dwellers within the league. Indiana lost to Minnesota last season, Illinois was defeated by Purdue, Ohio State laid an egg at Minnesota and got thumped by 18 and Wisconsin was upended by Penn State and Northwestern.

Conference champions or conference chumps?

On the flip side, the Big 12, which had two of its teams knock off Big Ten champions in the 2002 NCAA tournament, is a conference that reigns supreme nationally.

Currently, there are four Big 12 teams ranked No. 12 or higher in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. A fifth — Missouri — is ranked 25th in the country. Texas Tech is getting votes and at 12-5 with a win over Kansas, Colorado should be.

Larry Eustachy has noticed the strength of his league.

“I was telling somebody that our fifth-place team could win the Big Ten, in my opinion,” Eustachy said during the weekly Big 12 teleconference. “Like when Oklahoma played Oklahoma State, I think there is going to be a lot of luck involved with the clock or a shot. Texas Tech thinks they’ve got Oklahoma beat and Hollis Price throws one in.”

Earlier this month, six teams — half of the conference — were in the Top 25 poll. With more than 300 teams in Division I, that means that half of the league was in the top 8.5 percent of all major-college basketball teams.

Six Big 12 teams have been in the poll at least one week in each of the last two seasons.

And when one team upsets the other in Big 12 play, it’s often a thriller instead of a blowout. Already twice this season, it’s been because of a lucky shot — see Oklahoma State-Oklahoma or Texas Tech-Oklahoma.

Even when Kansas marched through the Big 12 with a 16-0 conference record last season, it was tested. Oklahoma, Iowa State, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri all played the Jayhawks to within 10 points.

All of them lost to Kansas, but all had a chance.

This season, Eustachy said he sees a clearer picture, but it’s still foggy at times.

“There is certainly nobody above Oklahoma State’s level right now.” Eustachy said. “Now it’s just a matter of a little luck and a few breaks. Oklahoma is right there with them and so is Texas. Then you’ve got Texas Tech and Missouri.”

That statement says nothing, but says it all at the same time.

Well said, coach.

Jeff Raasch is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Odebolt. He is the assignment sports editor and senior sports reporter for the Daily.