Big 12 Power Rankings: Kansas State remains No. 1

1. Kansas State (6-2, 18-3)

No. 7 Kansas State has won three of their last five games, with most recently being a convincing win over Florida in Manhattan. It is the time of the schedule when home court and conditioning matter. Every Big 12 team has taken a couple stumbles.

Until we see K-State fall for a third time in the conference, they remain at the top. (Last: 1)

Make em dance @DavidNGuessan1 #KStateMBB x @FurnitureMallKS pic.twitter.com/NnhuarqcmU

— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) January 30, 2023

2. Texas (6-2, 17-4)

Texas has rallied around interim head coach Rodney Terry. The Longhorns have lost just one game all year at home, and it came against Kansas State the day news broke about Chris Beard being fired in Austin.

Since then, they’ve protected home court and only have a single loss to another fellow leader of the Big 12 in Iowa State. (Last: 4)

3. Iowa State (6-2, 15-5)

After starting Big 12 play 4-0, the Cyclones have lost three of their last five contests. They did notch a very important win at home versus K-State a week ago. However, that was followed by Missouri embarrassing Iowa State in Columbia.

Iowa State is very well coached, but I’m still not quite convinced they have a roster that will have them competing for a league title the closer we get to the end of the regular season. They already have proved me wrong thus far, and they can continue that trend with a couple wins this week against Texas Tech on the road and Kansas at home. (Last: 3)

4. Baylor (5-3, 13-5)

Baylor is one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment. They are on a six-game winning streak after stumbling in the first three league games. The Bears haven’t fallen since being knocked off in Waco by Kansas State.

But they could vulnerable in Austin on Monday night. (Last: 5)

5. TCU (5-3, 14-4)  

TCU is limping after falling to Mississippi State, but they won their two more important Big 12 games prior to the challenge with the SEC foe. That included a 23-point smackdown of Kansas in Lawrence. They also cruised past K-State and Oklahoma this season.

The Horned Frogs will likely need to win both games this week to stay in the top half of KSO’s rankings. (Last: 6)

6. Kansas (5-3, 17-4)  

The Jayhawks badly needed to defeat Kentucky and succeeded in doing so. They were coming off a three-game losing streak, something the town of Lawrence simply is not accustomed to seeing from Bill Self’s group.

They get thrown right back into the gauntlet this week with matchups coming against Kansas State and Iowa State. (Last: 2)

7. Oklahoma State (3-5, 12-9)  

Mike Boynton’s squad seems like a team that will sneak into the NCAA tournament. They play great defense (as we saw versus K-State in Bramlage Coliseum) and have some solid pieces to work with on the offensive end. If they tighten a few things up, they could flirt with finishing in the top half of the league.

Matchups with Oklahoma and TCU are on deck. (Last: 7)

8. West Virginia (2-6, 13-8)    

West Virginia is currently on a nice two-game streak. They still have yet to get back-to-back Big 12 wins this season, but the Mountaineers are improving with each game. (Last: 9)

9. Oklahoma (2-6, 12-9)

After a three-game losing streak, no one foresaw Oklahoma beating No. 2 Alabama by 24 points.

Maybe that will jumpstart the Sooners as a Big 12 team that needs to be respected. However, they have to prove that by winning more basketball games. Oklahoma can’t afford to lose to the Cowboys in Norman this week. (Last: 8)

10. Texas Tech (0-8, 11-10)

We know what to expect from Texas Tech. They simply have not been very good in most of their league games. They did finally get their first win in over a month by taking down LSU. That might prove that the bottom of the Big 12 is much stronger than the bottom of the SEC.

Although, it still doesn’t change the fact that Mark Adams’ group is on a one-way ticket to missing their first NCAA tournament in a while after falling to Kansas State and West Virginia in their recent conference contests. They were at least competitive versus K-State in Manhattan, though. (Last: 10)

As a KSO subscriber, Kansas State fans can find out more about the rest of the recruiting targets still being chased, which underclassmen players could return for the Wildcats and how many of the seniors will be back on the roster for an extra season in Manhattan.

They can continue to learn more and more about the basketball team, their growth and follow along with us for the entirety of the season.

Remember, we have plenty of offseason coverage on the way to track how K-State is tracking in the transfer portal, and Jerome Tang and the Wildcats continue to trek towards a potential magical season that concludes with a tournament run.

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