Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings: Oklahoma State Cowboys, Baylor Bears continue to fall

The Big 12 remains the unquestionably deepest conference in the nation, and that shows with Oklahoma State and Baylor coming in as two of the four worst teams in the conference.

Jan 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins yells at his team during a 78-56 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats at Fred Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s this week’s Big 12 rankings for the week of February 10th.

1. Kansas Jayhawks (18-5, 9-1)
2. Iowa State Cyclones (18-4, 6-4)
3. Texas Longhorns (18-5, 7-3)
4. Kansas State Wildcats (16-7, 6-4)
5. West Virginia Mountaineers (14-10, 6-5)
6. Oklahoma Sooners (18-6, 7-4)
7. Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-7, 4-6)
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-11, 4-6)
9. Baylor Bears (14-9, 2-8)
10. TCU Horned Frogs (9-13, 0-10)

Oh yes, I fully expect any Cowboys or Bears fans to completely dismiss these rankings. No way that two teams that were picked to finish in the top three in the conference should ever be ranked in the bottom four.

I’d like to ask all of them the following: give me a reason why they shouldn’t be there.

Both teams are a combined 6-14 in conference play. Both have had close calls or lost to all the teams ahead of them, except the Cowboys’ victory over Texas…before the Longhorns went 6-1 since.

Hell, Texas Tech fans should be upset that their team is still in the bottom three – but they’ve benefited from facing TCU twice, and both wins were not that impressive.

West Virginia doesn’t belong as the fifth best team in the Big 12? False. Look back at their non conference schedule that includes Wisconsin, Missouri, Gonzaga, and Purdue. The Mountaineers went 0-4 against them all, but don’t think for a second that didn’t get them to improve for conference play. Look back at the non-conference schedule for the bottom half of the Big 12. Not too good, right?

WVU’s tougher schedule resulted in wins over Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas Tech, and two close victories over Oklahoma State. They’ve played better in the recent three weeks than the bottom half of the conference.

This all being said, don’t believe all of these near the bottom are bad. Far from it. Outside of TCU, every team has a ton of talent flowing on the roster. It’s just a great year in the Big 12.

• Iowa State climbs to second with their three-game winning streak. They’ve rebounded well after the losing skid in the middle of January. We’ll see how Melvin Ejim responds to his incredible 48-point game over TCU.
• Speaking of the Horned Frogs, they’re at least becoming competitive in Big 12 play. Improvement is all you can ask for in a doomed season from the start.
• Four teams have 18 victories in the Big 12. Kansas State and Oklahoma State have 16. West Virginia is playing themselves to an NCAA tournament berth. There would be no surprise to see seven teams in March.