Arizona and Iowa State look like the favorites in the Big 12 race as the conference schedule looms.
There’s no wrong answer between the Wildcats (12-0) and the Cyclones (12-0), who would both have No. 1 seeds if the NCAA tournament began today. Both have key wins to their name, and neither has looked even slightly vulnerable to date. It’s a long way to go until the teams meet in Tucson on March 2, but there’s reason to expect both to be near the top of the league then.
Read More: Around the Big 12: Men’s Post-Holiday Rankings
The league looks as deep as ever beyond them. Only Utah and Cincinnati look to be potential breather games to this point. Beyond that, there are no easy wins here.
Here’s a look around the Big 12 at who’s done what following the holiday.
1. Arizona (12-0)
The Wildcats get the nod because of the number of wins. They’ve beaten Florida, Connecticut, UCLA, Auburn and Alabama. Arizona looks strong on both ends of the floor, and the Wildcats haven’t allowed any of their past seven opponents to stay within 10 points.
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Arizona eases into the Big 12 schedule, visiting Utah on Saturday.
2. Iowa State (12-0)
The Cyclones turned a lot of heads in going to Purdue and winning by 23. But besides that and beating rival Iowa, there’s not a lot here. St. John’s is the only other sure tournament team the Cyclones have beaten to date. They’ll get plenty of chances in Big 12 play, so this isn’t a big deal.
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Iowa State opens Big 12 play by hosting West Virginia on Friday.
3. Kansas (10-3)
Beating NC State in Raleigh carries a lot of weight. The Jayhawks have no bad losses; the worst thing on the profile was a 13-point loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Why Kansas scheduled the Tar Heels and Wolfpack a month apart is a mystery, but they’ve played well as a whole.
Given how the Jayhawks fell apart last year, this year’s team seems in a much better position. Kansas opens Big 12 play on Saturday at UCF.
4. BYU (12-1)
The season opener over Villanova looks better and better as the Wildcats find their footing. There’s a lot to like about the Cougars, whose only loss is a two-pointer to Connecticut on a semi-neutral court. Wins over Miami, Dayton, Clemson and Wisconsin stand out nicely.
The Cougars get a tough opener, starting the Big 12 schedule on Saturday at Kansas State.
5. Houston (11-1)
Getting a win over Arkansas showed a few things about Houston. The Cougars haven’t played a true road game, but they do have several neutral-floor wins against good teams. But the win over the Razorbacks marked the first Top 25 win, as their only other such game was a loss to Tennessee.
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Houston remains the way it usually plays under Kelvin Sampson: methodical with excellent defense. The Cougars start league play on Saturday at Cincinnati.
6. Texas Tech (10-3)
Outside of Iowa State, the Red Raiders own the best win of anyone in the Big 12. Texas Tech knocked Duke from the ranks of the undefeated, beating the Blue Devils 82-81 on a neutral floor.
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The only bad moment on Texas Tech’s schedule came against Purdue, a 30-point shellacking. But that result looks more like an aberration as Tech continues to win. The Red Raiders open league play Saturday against Oklahoma State.
7. Central Florida (11-1)
There’s only one good win, at Texas A&M, but the Knights were competitive in their one loss against Vanderbilt. So if they win half their league games, they’re going to be an NCAA tournament team. That would go a long way toward calming the storm around coach Johnny Dawkins.
The Knights start league play on Saturday against Kansas.
8. TCU (9-3)
The best thing on this resume is a loss: the Frogs are the one team to not get embarrassed by Michigan. A four-point loss to the Wolverines is one of the most impressive things anyone has done all season. There are also solid wins over Florida and Wisconsin.
There’s also a terrible loss to New Orleans. The Privateers have since crashed to 3-8, including a 32-point loss to Texas Tech. So TCU still has to make up for that one. The Frogs open league play Saturday at home against Baylor.
9. Baylor (9-2)
The Bears didn’t challenge themselves much in the non-conference. Wins over Washington, Creighton and San Diego State are decent, but there’s nothing else here. Baylor lost its one road game at Memphis, and it lost its toughest test to St. John’s.
The Bears have the record, but they have much to prove in league play. They open on Saturday at TCU.
10. Kansas State (9-4)
The Wildcats aren’t sitting here if they had beaten Nebraska. That one-point loss in Kansas City is the closest anyone has come to beating the Cornhuskers. But Kansas State fell, then got whacked at Indiana and lost at home to Bowling Green.
The best wins on the slate are California, Tulsa and Creighton. That will not be enough without a strong showing in the Big 12. Kansas State faces BYU on Saturday to open league play.
11. West Virginia (9-4)
The Mountaineers are similar to K-State: it’s a different conversation if they’d scored once more against Ohio State. Ross Hodge’s team has been competitive against good teams but hasn’t yet beaten any of them. Beating Pitt does a lot to gain goodwill with Mountaineer fans, but it will not move the needle with the committee.
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The one black mark is obvious: the loss to Xavier looks worse as the Musketeers continue to struggle. West Virginia opens league play Friday at Iowa State.
12. Oklahoma State (11-1)
The Cowboys did go to Northwestern and win, but they’ve been playing a lot of scheduleball. Oklahoma State mostly played teams who would look good in the NET rankings without giving them too much trouble. That’s smart scheduling for the long-term, but it means the Cowboys’ record looks inflated.
The one loss was a reasonable one, albeit a painful one to Oklahoma. The Cowboys travel to Texas Tech on Saturday.
13. Arizona State (9-4)
Beating Texas and Oklahoma was good. Losing at home to Oregon State was not. Arizona State has been highly inconsistent, which makes the Sun Devils the most volatile team in the league.
ASU will have the most riding on its performance in the Big 12 of anyone, as it’s shown the potential to both play with anyone and lose to anyone. The Sun Devils open on Saturday against Colorado.
14. Colorado (10-3)
It’s never good when you lose to your previous employer. It’s even worse when that employer was an in-state rival you hadn’t lost against since 1936. But that happened to Colorado when the Buffaloes fell to Northern Colorado for their third loss in five games.
The wins over Providence and Washington seem a world away now. Colorado has also lost to Colorado State as well as Stanford. The Buffaloes begin to try to right the ship Saturday at Arizona State.
15. Cincinnati (7-5)
The Bearcats seemed to be making progress after beating Dayton and giving a credible effort against Louisville. And then Eastern Michigan came to town and stunned the Bearcats, and Cincinnati tailspun from there. The Bearcats lost to Xavier and Clemson and got blown out by Georgia.
Cincinnati carries the most defeats in the league to this point. They’ll host Houston on Saturday to open the Big 12 slate.
16. Utah (8-4)
This is a mess. Utah has already lost to Cal Poly and Grand Canyon, and it nearly got beat by Weber State and Cal Baptist. The only decent thing on the profile is a win over Mississippi on a neutral floor. Even that has lost its luster as the Rebels have fallen apart.
There are 18 games on the Big 12 schedule. Per advanced metrics, Utah is projected to lose all of them. The Utes get their first chance to avoid that on Saturday at home against Arizona.
