Team of the week

Christian Royston: Kansas State

Although I did not put Kansas State high up in my rankings, I still think they had the best week of any team in the Big 12. With most teams dropping at least one game throughout the week, Kansas State was one of the few with a perfect week.

Not only did Kansas State not lose a game, the Wildcats took down Baylor, a top-10 team at the time, in an overtime thriller. Along with that, they also secured a win against Oklahoma State, although not a solid team, a win nonetheless.

Kansas State has continued to show its defensive prowess while being a threat from beyond the arc. The combination of those talents was on display in the third week of Big 12 action and should carry over through the rest of Big 12 play.

The one knock against Kansas State’s week would be the fact that both games were home matchups and the four-point win over the bottom team in the Big 12 is not too promising. However, defending home turf is important in the Big 12 and shows promise of what the Wildcats can bring to the table in future matchups.

Logan Shanks: Houston

After starting conference play 1-2 with upset losses on the road to Iowa State and TCU, the Cougars bounced back the following week with a pair of reassuring home wins. Houston’s 77-54 blowout over Texas Tech was led by a double-double performance by Jamal Shead, which saw the senior guard finish with 29 points and 10 assists on 12-for-16 shooting.

In their 23-point win over the Red Raiders, the Cougars held Texas Tech to 36.7% shooting from the field and won the turnover battle 14-6 to help snap their two-game losing streak.

Their defense-driven style of play continued in their next matchup at home against UCF, when they held the Knights to a historically low 15.9% shooting from the field. Along with the lowest shooting percentage in Big 12 history, UCF also turned the ball over 15 times to Houston’s eight. While the Cougars also had trouble connecting from the floor with just 20 of their 58 shots falling, their defense was enough to blowout UCF 57-42.

Although I still have some doubts about whether the Cougars can keep it up on the road, they got back to what has won them games, and look to be having a resurgence after an underwhelming start to their first season in the Big 12.

Rankings

Royston

1. Houston (16-2, 3-2)
2. Oklahoma (15-3, 3-2)
3. Texas Tech (14-4, 4-1)
4. Kansas (15-3, 3-2)
5. Kansas State (14-4, 4-1)
6. Baylor (14-4, 3-2)
7. BYU (14-4, 2-3)
8. Cincinnati (13-5, 2-3)
9. Iowa State (14-4, 3-2)
10. TCU (13-5, 2-3)
11. Texas (13-5, 2-3)
12. UCF (11-6, 2-3)
13. West Virginia (7-11, 2-3)
14. Oklahoma State (8-10, 0-5)

Shanks

1. Houston (16-2, 3-2)
2. Kansas State (14-4, 4-1)
3. Texas Tech (15-3, 4-1)
4. Kansas (15-3, 3-2)
5. Oklahoma (15-3, 3-2)
6. BYU (14-4, 2-3)
7. Iowa State (14-4, 3-2)
8. Baylor (14-4, 3-2)
9. TCU (13-5, 2-3)
10. Texas (13-5, 2-3)
11. UCF (11-6, 2-3)
12. West Virginia (7-11, 2-3)
13. Cincinnati (13-5, 2-3)
14. Oklahoma State (8-10, 0-5)

Ranking highlights

Royston

I think we can start with putting the weird week of losses from Houston in the rearview mirror. The Cougars did more than enough to solidify their top spot in the Big 12. They made quick work of a hot Texas Tech team while also keeping an oddly dangerous UCF team to a historic low shooting percentage. Although Houston’s road presence raises some questions, its defense is good enough to beat pretty much any team in the nation on any given night.

Just below Houston is Oklahoma, which has proven itself as a competitor against any team. The only losses for the Sooners so far in conference play have been to Kansas on the road and TCU on the road during the week where TCU could have beat any team in the nation. Oklahoma also has solid wins against Iowa State and Cincinnati, two teams that are sneakily good.

I do want to highlight one team that I have kind of high up in my rankings. Cincinnati is a team that might be sitting at 2-3 in the Big 12 but could easily be undefeated. The Bearcats started Big 12 play with an 11-point win on the road against BYU. They then followed that up with a one-point lost to Texas and a three-point loss on the road to a top-ranked Baylor team. Overall, Cincinnati has been solid so far through the Big 12, despite the less than ideal results.

Shanks

While it is fun to watch almost any game in the Big 12 conference, what comes with the enjoyment is knowing that any team can win on any night. That theme stayed true this week, as multiple teams that were down during week two saw success this past week, and vice versa.

Teams like Baylor and TCU dropped due to losing both of its games this last week, with the Horned Frogs having a disastrous first half against short-handed Iowa State. Six teams split their matchups this week, but what sticks out is Texas going toe-to-toe with Baylor and winning on a last-second shot, but that was just after losing to UCF at home.

Kansas State, Houston and Oklahoma all go up due to a pair of wins, but I am cautious about the Wildcats as they allowed Oklahoma State to hang around before pulling away in the final 30 seconds.

There is still no real discrepancy between the top and the bottom teams of the conference, but this next week should start to weave out the contenders and the pretenders. As we have seen through the first three weeks, anything can happen.