1. Kansas (19-3, 8-1 Big 12) [No change [—] from last week]

Kansas’ win against Iowa State proved two things: The Jayhawks should just be named conference champions every preseason until proven otherwise and that no matter how vulnerable Bill Self’s teams look in the first half of the season, they will end up one of the nation’s best teams. Kansas is playing its best basketball right now and will be nearly impossible to catch atop the Big 12.

2. Iowa State (16-5, 6-3 Big 12) [—]

A convincing win against Texas Christian showed that Iowa State isn’t looking past anyone after the Texas Tech loss, but the Jayhawks showed they are still the best of the Big 12 in an impressive win at home against the Cyclones. Iowa State has a lot of room for improvement on the defensive end, but still is the toughest team to beat in the conference behind the Kansas.

3. Oklahoma (15-7, 6-4 Big 12) [+4]

After diving toward the bottom of these rankings in recent weeks, Oklahoma has quietly picked up some solid wins after suffering through one of the nation’s toughest schedules and certainly the toughest conference slate so far. A good road win at Oklahoma State was followed by a great win against West Virginia at home, giving the Sooners a chance to sneak even higher with the hardest part of the schedule behind them.

4. West Virginia (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) [-1]

The Mountaineers may have the second best record in the conference, but unlike the Sooners, they don’t have a schedule to brag about. West Virginia has yet to play Kansas, Baylor or Oklahoma State and still have Iowa State on the road. The Mountaineers weren’t battle-tested in the non-conference slate, so the back end of the schedule may be too much for them to handle.

5. Oklahoma State (14-7, 4-5 Big 12) [+1]

The Cowboys have already played six games against ranked Big 12 teams, but as has been the problem all season, they don’t get enough production from all five players on the court to contend week-in and week-out. 

6. Baylor (16-5, 4-4 Big 12) [+2]

Baylor’s 23-point stomping of Texas helped solidify the Bears as a dangerous team in the Big 12, despite showing some inconsistency early. Baylor is 3-2 against ranked teams and the team’s four losses have come on the road or against Kansas. 

7. Texas (14-7, 3-5 Big 12) [-3]

There’s not a more disappointing team in the Big 12 than the Longhorns this season. The team’s best conference win was against West Virginia at home, but its other two wins are against conference bottom-dwellers TCU and Texas Tech. Where is the team that was supposed to compete with Kansas for a conference title? About halfway through the conference season, they have all the pieces, but haven’t shown up in Austin. 

8. Kansas State (12-10, 5-4 Big 12) [-3]

Another light schedule, another team struggling to keep up as the top of the Big 12 takes over. Back-to-back losses to Kansas and West Virginia raise serious doubts about a team that has played in many close games, but doesn’t seem to have the firepower to beat the top half of the conference consistently.

9. TCU (14-7, 1-7 Big 12) [—]

After giving Kansas a scare at home, TCU fell apart in the second half against Iowa State. The Cyclones ran away with the second-largest margin of victory against the Horned Frogs this season and TCU fell to 1-7 in the Big 12.

10. Texas Tech (11-11, 1-8 Big 12) [—]

The Red Raiders have lost by 20 points or more four times in Big 12 play. They lost by 19 to West Virginia in their last game. They aren’t moving in these rankings.