Big 12 Rankings: Kansas State camped out in the basement

Kansas State’s good energy and equity from the Kansas win has been zapped since the last set of rankings came out. Kansas has continued to struggle on the road, and K-State fell behind big at BYU before making things interesting late. Then the Wildcats had a long layoff with a bye week before facing TCU this Saturday. Here is how KSO makes sense of the Big 12 with three weeks to play in the regular season.

1. HOUSTON COUGARS

Mason: 2 DY: 1 Drew: 1 Fan: 1

Since their non-competitive loss in Lawrence, Houston has gotten back on track with two gimme games against Oklahoma State and Cincinnati. After this weekend’s game with Texas at noon on CBS, the next week will decide the Big 12. Houston hosts Iowa State and then travels to Baylor to face their greatest threats at winning the Big 12 in year one.

2. IOWA STATE CYCLONES

Mason: 1 DY: 2 Drew: 2 Fan: 2

They defend well and have a deep arsenal of scorers that can carry the load. As unfortunate as it may seem, it is time to start taking Iowa State as a Big 12 title contender seriously. The Clones already have a win over Houston under their belt and could make a major statement on Monday when they go to the Fertitta Center for the rematch.

3. BAYLOR BEARS

Mason: 3 DY: 3 Drew: 3 Fan: 3

Kansas let Baylor back into their game last Saturday and was given numerous opportunities to force five extra minutes where it looked like the Bears could steal a win. Instead, they came away with their only loss in the last five games. One game remains with Houston on the schedule, so Scott Drew can tie up that loose end if he wants to win the Big 12 but will need help with Iowa State. Baylor is also about to embark on a mountainous road trip as they are in Morgantown on Saturday and then head to Provo on Tuesday. Wildly different time zones in two different mountain ranges might be a trap for Baylor.

4. KANSAS JAYHAWKS

Mason: 4 DY: 4 Drew: 5 Fan: 4

The magic of Allen Fieldhouse has continued on this season, but as evidenced by Hunter Dickinson’s postgame comments at Texas Tech, this Jayhawk team doesn’t have the mental toughness to be good on the road. Their 11-point blown lead to Kansas State was just the start of a bad road week, as the following Monday they lost by 29 in Lubbock. I held out as long as I could, but at this point, Bill Self has a problem on his hands with the success of his team on the road. He created it with the roster he put together.

5. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS

Mason: 6 DY: 5 Drew: 4 Fan: 5

Darrion Williams scored 30 points and went 12/12 from the floor against Kansas earlier this week. An impressive feat against anyone, but not missing a shot on that many attempts against Kansas in that big of a win is significant. Texas Tech has bounced back from their three-game losing streak with two home wins, but now they go to Ames. The best way to prove you are to be taken seriously is by winning in Hilton.

6. BYU COUGARS

Mason: 5 DY: 6 Drew: 6 Fan: 6

After a near comical blown lead to Kansas State in the second half on Saturday, BYU won another home game in strange fashion. Leading by double digits with less than five minutes to play, BYU only beat UCF by two. It included allowing the Knights to score 62 points in the second half. They are winning these games, but blowing leads at home to bottom feeders is a dangerous trait to have.

7. OKLAHOMA SOONERS

Mason: 7 DY: 8 Drew: 7 Fan: 7

Oklahoma is a traditional middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team. Nothing wildly impressive about what they have done this season, but haven’t had a disastrous stretch yet. The best litmus test for Porter Moser’s squad is this weekend when Kansas comes to Norman. The Jayhawks have been putrid on the road this season, this is a game that Oklahoma should win at this point.

8. TEXAS LONGHORNS

Mason: 9 DY: 7 Drew: 9 Fan: 8

Over the next four games, Kansas State might be the only reprieve the Longhorns get in their schedule. A road trip to Houston doesn’t seem to be fruitful this weekend, and road trips to Lawrence and Lubbock come after the Monday night test with the Wildcats. Texas and K-State are in similar spots right now, a slip or two away from having their NCAA Tournament hopes dashed.

9. TCU HORNED FROGS

Mason: 8 DY: 9 Drew: 8 Fan: 9

After their first eight Big 12 games were all decided by single digits, the last three have been double-digit swings either way. TCU likes to get out and run, because they don’t have the greatest collection of shooters. Trey Tennyson can light it up though, while Emmanuel Miller and others get the job done elsewhere on the floor. They get ready for a road trip to Bramlage Coliseum this weekend where just Nebraska and Oklahoma have won this season.

T-10. CINCINNATI BEARCATS

Mason: 10 DY: 11 Drew: 10 Fan: 11

If Cincinnati misses the NCAA Tournament, they will look back at how many close games they let slip away. You can bank on their competitiveness to show up consistently, but finishing is not their forte.

T-10. KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

Mason: 11 DY: 10 Drew: 11 Fan: 10

The win against Kansas looks a lot differently now. K-State followed it up with a brutal start to the game against BYU and Kansas lost another road game a week later by 29 at Texas Tech. That shouldn’t take anything away from the significance of the win and the performances Tylor Perry, Arthur Kaluma and Cam Carter gave. It just might not mean the winning formula is as replicable as many would have hoped. It isn’t impossible that K-State goes out and wins their next two against TCU and at Texas. If they do that, this team is back to being a real NCAA Tournament threat. If not, the NIT looks like the best bet for a team that just doesn’t have enough juice this season.

12. UCF KNIGHTS

Mason: 12 DY: 12 Drew: 12 Fan: 12

The Knights have put together a valiant effort in their first Big 12 season, but they might be running out of steam. They will at least be rewarded for their efforts with an NIT bid.

13. WEST. VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS

Mason: 14 DY: 13 Drew: 13 Fan: 13

Don’t look now, but West Virginia hasn’t been competitive in their last three games. The taxing season filled with drama, injuries, ineligible players and wild personalities is taking its toll on Josh Eilert’s squad.

14. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Mason: 13 DY: 14 Drew: 14 Fan: 14

Drew didn’t even list Oklahoma State in his rankings this week, just Mike Boynton. That’s about right.