Team of the week
Christian Royston: Houston
Houston continues to prove why it is the top team in the Big 12 and one of the top teams in the nation. Although the Cougars did not beat extremely impressive teams, they did get the job done.
Houston left Cincinnati with a win, even though it was not the cleanest game. Cincinnati has been a gritty team that has a lot of upset potential, so leaving enemy turf unharmed was a good sign for Houston.
Along with the road win, Houston blew out Texas, a team that has been solid in Big 12 play. The main reason that I had Houston as the team of the week is because of the movement in the rankings. With Purdue losing to an unranked Ohio State team, Houston moved up to the No. 2 spot.
With the upsets occurring in the last week of basketball, Houston having a perfect week was enough to give them the nod for team of the week. Especially with the recent home win over No. 6 Iowa State.
Logan Shanks: Baylor
The Bears continued to stay in contention for the Big 12 regular season title following a pair of dominant wins over Oklahoma and West Virginia. Winners of five of its last six games, Baylor is going into the final stretch of Big 12 play on a hot streak and as one of the most feared teams in the conference.
Baylor’s first win came at home against an Oklahoma team that is hungry to prove its relevancy late in conference play. The Bears 17 point win over the Sooners was highlighted by a 40-27 lead going into halftime, holding Oklahoma to 39% shooting from the floor.
The team followed up its impressive defensive showing against Oklahoma with an offensive masterclass on the road against West Virginia. The Bears had six players finish in double-figure scoring, with Jayden Nunn and Ja’Kobe Walter combining for 43 points.
With six games left the road is not easy for the Bears, but they have proven that they are a sound team on both ends of the court.
Rankings
Royston
- Houston
- Iowa State
- Baylor
- Kansas
- TCU
- Texas Tech
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- BYU
- Cincinnati
- Kansas State
- UCF
- Oklahoma
- West Virginia
Shanks
- Houston
- Iowa State
- Baylor
- Texas Tech
- Kansas
- TCU
- Oklahoma
- BYU
- Cincinnati
- Texas
- Kansas State
- UCF
- Oklahoma State
- West Virginia
Ranking highlights
Royston
The only change in the top of the Big 12 has been Kansas slipping due to continued early week struggles. Dropping another road game on a Monday is not too surprising, although at some point it was going to hurt Kansas, and this is the week I decided to drop it.
TCU is a team that has been surprisingly good this season. Its defense has been airtight and it is still competing well with other teams in the Big 12. A tight road win over Kansas State is tough to do, just ask Kansas, and TCU did it.
BYU is a team I had to slide down the rankings after a disastrous game at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had cemented themselves as one of the worst teams in the conference, so giving up nearly 100 points was not ideal.
Texas is an interesting team to rank considering its losses. The Longhorns seem to be good at times but also have head-scratching losses. However, after Monday’s win over Kansas State, I feel confident putting them over teams like BYU and Kansas State.
Shanks
The top of the Big 12 stayed consistent, outside of Kansas’ Big Monday loss to Texas Tech. Baylor, Houston and Iowa State all won their games, each looking like a trap game on paper.
Where things really shake up for me, per usual, is the middle of the pack teams. TCU had the liberty of playing West Virginia, which is almost a guaranteed win at this point, and edged out a win over Kansas State on Saturday.
I’m gonna keep my eye on the Horned Frogs for the last couple weeks of league play as they have a favorable schedule to round things out. They are a game behind Kansas, and could very well clinch a top-four seed in the Big 12 tournament in a few weeks.
Other than that, the other middle-tier teams in the Big 12 were disappointing. BYU probably had the worst loss of the week on Saturday against Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma dropped a winnable game at home against Kansas.
