Big 12 Power Rankings: Kansas is Finally Finding Itself
Posted by Nate Kotisso on January 13th, 2014Going into last Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma, Bill Self told his players that conference play was a “new season” and that everything would be “fresh and new from this point forward.” The young Jayhawks have heeded that message so far, getting past the Sooners and soundly beating Kansas State on Saturday. With a 2-0 start in the Big 12, we all figured they would rise in this week’s power rankings, but by how much? Is your top 10 shaped differently than ours? That’s what the comments are for.
It appears safe to close the panic button for Bill Self and the Jayhawks. (AP Photo)
1. Kansas — 6 points (previous: 3rd; Brian-1st, Kory-1st, Nate-3rd, Taylor-1st)
Comment: “It’s looking like Kansas’ non-conference struggles were nothing more than one of the youngest teams in the country playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Jayhawks have looked good the last two games and now have four legitimate threats to have a big game any on night: Andrew Wiggins, Perry Ellis, Joel Embiid, and Wayne Selden.” – Kory Carpenter (@Kory_Carpenter)
2. Iowa State — 7 points (previous: 1st; Brian-2nd, Kory-2nd, Nate-1st, Taylor-2nd)
Comment: “I didn’t feel like I should drop the Cyclones in my top 10 — they lost to a pretty good Oklahoma team by five on the road. The winner of Kansas-Iowa State tonight will likely take my top spot next week.” – Nate Kotisso (@natekotisso)
3. Oklahoma State — 13 points (previous: 4th; Brian-3rd, Kory-3rd, Nate-4th, Taylor-3rd)
Comment: “Travis Ford’s squad avoided a disastrous start to conference play by knocking down a big three late to give them the win in Morgantown. If the Cowboys would have dropped two of their first three in league play to teams in the middle tier of the conference, they could have kissed their Big 12 title hopes goodbye.” – Taylor Erickson (@tc_erickson)
4. Baylor — 14 points (previous: 2nd; Brian-4th, Kory-4th, Nate-2nd, Taylor-4th)
Comment: “It may be time to buy low on Taurean Prince while you can. He’s only averaging 16.9 minutes per game, but he’s been terrific as of late with offensive ratings over 120 in seven of his last nine games.” – Brian Goodman (@BSGoodman)
5. Oklahoma — 21 points (previous: 6th; Brian-6th, Kory-5th, Nate-5th, Taylor-5th)
Comment: “The Sooners now stand at 2-1 after the Iowa State win on Saturday. Buddy Hield has been the catalyst for OU, averaging 20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 47.8 percent field goal shooting and 48.1 percent on three-pointers in Big 12 play.” – NK
6. Kansas State — 24 points (previous: 5th; Brian-5th, Kory-7th, Nate-6th, Taylor-6th)
Comment: “The Wildcats looked a bit lost offensively at times in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon, and will need to put that performance behind them as they look to get back on track with a pair of home games this week.” – TE
7. Texas — 27 points (previous: 7th; Brian-7th, Kory-6th, Nate-7th, Taylor-7th)
Comment: “Rick Barnes’ rollercoaster season continues. It looks like the Longhorns’ win over North Carolina has passed its expiration date, but opportunities await. Texas’ next five games come against West Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor and Kansas, with three of the five match-ups coming at the Frank Erwin Center.” – BG
8. West Virginia — 32 points (previous: 8th; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor all voted WVU 8th)
Comment: ” It doesn’t appear to be a train wreck like we saw last season in Morgantown, but at 10-6, the Mountaineers still have a lot of work to do if they want an NCAA Tournament bid.” – KC
9. Texas Tech — 36 points (previous: 9th; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor all voted TTU 9th)
Comment: “The Red Raiders hung tough last week, but lost both its games (against West Virginia and Texas) by just three points. I’m not going as far as to pick them to spring an upset at home over Baylor on Wednesday, but it’s definitely a game to keep an eye on.” – BG
10. Texas Christian — 40 points (previous: 10th; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor all voted TCU 10th)
Comment: “Given the improved play by the Horned Frogs this season, I thought there was a chance they could knock off Kansas State at home, and boy was I wrong on that. With as solid as the league is, wins will be tough to come by in Fort Worth. ” – TE
Big 12 Video of the Week
This doesn’t have anything to do with the Big 12 but just in case you didn’t watch Arizona vs. UCLA last Thursday, Bill Walton worked the color commentary along with Dave Pasch on ESPN. And so, here’s four minutes of Walton being Walton.
Five Big 12 Games You Better Watch
- Monday: Kansas at Iowa State (9:00 ET, ESPN)
- Tuesday: Oklahoma at Kansas State (7:00 ET, ESPN2)
- Saturday: Oklahoma at Baylor (2:00 ET, ESPN2)
- Saturday: Oklahoma State at Kansas (4:00 ET, CBS)
- Saturday: Iowa State at Texas (4:00 ET, ESPN3/Big 12 Network)
