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Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings: Texas Longhorns dethrone Kansas Jayhawks, becomes league’s best

By Brian Spaen

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The Texas Longhorns have taken over the top spot for the first time this season, dominating the past week with blowouts over Oklahoma State and West Virginia at home.

Feb 15, 2014; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Kendal Yancy (0) drives the ball during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings for the week of February 17th:

  1. Texas Longhorns (20-5, 9-3)
  2. Kansas Jayhawks (19-6, 10-2)
  3. Iowa State Cyclones (19-5, 7-5)
  4. West Virginia Mountaineers (15-11, 7-6)
  5. Oklahoma Sooners (19-7, 8-5)
  6. Kansas State Wildcats (17-8, 7-5)
  7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-12, 5-7)
  8. Baylor Bears (16-9, 4-8)
  9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-9, 4-8)
  10. TCU Horned Frogs (9-15, 0-12)

The Longhorns defeated the Cowboys and Mountaineers by an average of 18 points. West Virginia was the hottest team in the Big 12 after dropping 102 in a blowout over Iowa State, but they were held to just 71 points against the tenacious Texas defense that holds teams to under 70 points per game.

What makes the blowout over Oklahoma State notable is that it didn’t feature Jonathan Holmes, who averages 13 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

That top ranking will be put to the test this week, as Texas will take on Kansas and Iowa State on the road, who are ranked as the second and third-best team in the conference, respectively.

  • Iowa State drops down to third after getting their doors blown off at West Virginia. It was a great recovery at home against Texas Tech, and now they’ll have a big one at Hilton Coliseum against Texas before heading to TCU.
  • West Virginia actually moved a spot ahead despite getting blown out in Austin, but it’s simply because no other team deserves to be ahead of them. Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech at home while Kansas State lost to Baylor after defeating Kansas.
  • The Wildcats are so different between home and road games. Their last three games: beat Texas by 17 at home, beat Kansas by three at home, then lost to Baylor by 14 on the road. The only Big 12 win on the road for KSU was at TCU; that doesn’t really count.
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