Big 12 basketball power rankings: Is TCU really that good?
By Brian Spaen
The TCU Horned Frogs are the lone undefeated Big 12 team left and even made their debut in the Associated Press top 25. However, how good is this basketball team, and how do they rank among the other conference opponents?
EDITOR’S NOTE: A FanSided/Wordpress glitch completely erased my original full length power rankings. Due to time (and that piece being over 600 words), I can’t describe why I ranked each team as I did, but I highlighted TCU’s reasons and just listed off the power rankings.
I’ll break down the power rankings further in an upcoming podcast and I apologize for the inconvenience.
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Here’s the latest Big 12 basketball power rankings heading into the Christmas holiday week.
- Texas Longhorns (9-1)
- Kansas Jayhawks (9-1)
- Iowa State Cyclones (9-1)
- Baylor Bears (9-1)
- West Virginia Mountaineers (10-1)
- Oklahoma Sooners (7-3)
- TCU Horned Frogs (11-0)
- Kansas State Wildcats (7-4)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-2)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-1)
TCU is a much improved team from last season. Despite their winless jaunt in conference play a season ago, their star Kyan Anderson was aided by a couple of breakout players — Karviar Shepherd and Brandon Parrish. Their big man, Amric Fields, was out for the first part of the season, but Shepherd has turned into the main guy leading the team with 78 rebounds.
The problem with TCU’s start, and why they sit at just seventh on the power rankings, is due to the schedule. Their three best teams based on RPI are Ole Miss, Radford, and New Orleans. With two upcoming layups, they will likely be undefeated heading into Big 12 play.
The Horned Frogs will certainly have momentum, but how good is this team? They haven’t been fully tested at any point of the year. With how great the Big 12 is this year, it’s hard to imagine another surprise season like this school’s football team had.
Until there’s some evidence in the conference season, expectations should still be very low for the Horned Frogs.
- Iowa State still feels a step below Texas and Kansas, but the margin is narrow as the Cyclones are starting to look dominant and have complete games.