Big 12 men's basketball power rankings heading into the NCAA tournament

The Big 12 men’s basketball conference has been arguably the most competitive conference in the 2025-26 season.

Coming to the end of the season and entering post season play, it is time to evaluate where each team stands before the madness of March begins.

Tournament Locks

1. Arizona 

Best Wins:

• No. 3 Florida (neutral site)
• No. 3 Uconn (away)
• No. 2 Houston (away)

Worst Losses

• No. 9 Kansas (away)
• No. 16 Texas Tech (away)

There is no doubt that Arizona is the best team in the Big 12 this year. Arizona is currently ranked no. 2 and has arguably one of the best resumes in the nation.

Freshman guard Brayden Burries leads the team in scoring but every game it seems like Arizona has a different leading scorer. Freshman Koa Peat and senior Jaden Bradley are elite scorers and are projected to enter the draft with Burries. KenPom ranks Arizona the third best defensive efficiency rating in the nation and seventh best offensive efficiency.

2. Houston

Best Wins:

• No. 14 Arkansas (away)
• No. 16 BYU (away)
• No. 14 Texas Tech (away)

Worst Losses:

• No. 17 Tennessee (neutral site)
• No. 14 Kansas (away)

Houston made it to the national championship last year and were able to retain a lot of talent from its roster. Led by freshman guard Kingston Flemings, Houston has shown discipline and grit throughout the season, especially within conference play.

Coach Kelvin Sampson has Houston ranked with the sixth best defensive efficiency rating in the nation per KenPom and has corralled some big wins in hostile environments. Sampson understands what it takes to have a championship-caliber team and with the talent it has, the Cougars could make a deep run this year.

3. Kansas

Best Wins:

• No. 2 Iowa State (home)
• No. 1 Arizona (home)
• No. 5 Houston (home)

Worst Losses:

• Arizona State (away)
• West Virginia (away)

The Allen Fieldhouse has been one of the hardest places to play in for years now and this year hasn’t been any different. During Big 12 play, its only loss at home was against Cincinnati. Kansas is an elite team and especially when NBA prospect Darryn Peterson is playing.

Peterson is averaging almost 20 points a game this year and has shown dominance when active. But due to injuries and other reasons, Peterson has missed time which brought losses to the program. Even with Peterson playing however, Kansas has some confusing losses.

Losing to Arizona State in March was surprising and uncharacteristic of the Jayhawks who are coached by Bill Self. However, with wins against teams like Iowa State, Arizona, Houston, Texas Tech, and a fully healthy BYU, the Jayhawks should be able to make a deep run in the tournament.

4. Iowa State

Best Wins:

• No. 1 Purdue (away)
• No. 14 St. Johns (neutral site)
• No. 2 Houston (away)

Worst Losses:

• Cincinnati (away)
• TCU (home)

With lots of retention from a great roster last year, Iowa State put together a great nonconference schedule and was able to pick up a massive, record setting win, on the road against Purdue. Led by junior Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State has dominated the Big 12 finishing 12-6 in the conference.

The main question mark for the Cyclones relies within their offense. Iowa State is ranked no. 26 in offensive efficiency by KenPom and averages 81.8 points per game which is 68th in the nation.

When Iowa State is winning games, the Cyclones are holding its opponents consistently to under 70 points per game and are forcing 15.3 turnovers per game, which is the best in the Big 12. The question for head coach T.J. Otzelberger is whether or not his team will be able to continue to apply such consistent defensive pressure during the NCAA tournament.

5. Texas Tech

Best Wins:

• No. 3 Duke (neutral site)
• No. 6 Houston (home)
• No. 1 Arizona (away)

Worst Losses:

• Arizona State (away)
• UCF (away)

Texas Tech benefited greatly from the return of its junior forward, JT Toppin this year. Up until his injury, the Red Raiders were 19-6 and had just beaten no. 1 Arizona on the road. A top three finish in the Big 12 was in sight and the idea of a final four run wasn’t crazy.

With strong play from future NBA draft pick Christian Anderson, Texas Tech finished the season 3-2 after Toppin's injury. Heading into the Big 12 tournament, a few question marks remain. Will senior guard Donovan Atwell continue to score at an elite level in the NCAA tournament? Will sophomore forward Luke Bamgboye be able to make up for the lack of interior presence that Toppin brought?

There is no question that Texas Tech still has the potential to make the Elite 8 or further with the roster that they have and the coaching ability of Grant McCasland. But, the injury of Toppin makes Texas Tech less potent.

6. TCU

Best Wins:

• No. 10 Florida (neutral site)
• No. 5 Iowa State (home)
• No. 10 Texas Tech (away)

Worst Losses:

• Utah (away)
• New Orleans (home)

TCU lost their first game of the season to New Orleans at home, a team that would later finish 5th in the Southland conference standings. But credit to head coach Jamie Dixon and his staff, the team was able to turn it around very nicely and quickly. Sophomore David Punch was the team's leading scorer and averaged 13.6 points per game.

But what caused TCU to have a great season was not their offense that was ranked 92nd in the nation by KenPom. Instead it was its outstanding defense. In a loss to no. 6 Michigan, TCU held the Wolverines to 67 points. In a win against no. 5 Iowa State, the Horned Frogs held the Cyclones to 55 points.

TCU also forces the second most turnovers per game in the Big 12 at 14.2 per game. Losing to Colorado and Utah definitely hurt its resume, but TCU is also a team who is heading into the NCAA tournament very hot winning eight of their last nine games.

7. UCF

Best Wins:

• No. 17 Kansas (home)
• No. 11 Texas Tech (home)
• No. 19 BYU (away)

Worst Losses:

• Oklahoma State (home)
• West Virginia (home)

UCF started off the season 12-1 which included a win against no. 17 Kansas. But some unfortunate losses within Big 12 play that makes the Knights hard to evaluate.

Its 3-point shooting will be the reason why UCF will be dangerous in the NCAA tournament this year. UCF is third in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting percentage and has a starting five that can all shoot the three ball at great percentages.

In its dominant win against BYU, the Knights shot 58% from 3-point range. In its win against Texas Tech, the Knights shot 46%. Yet due to three straight losses to some of the bottom feeders of the Big 12, UCF is now looking a little shaky heading into the Big 12 Tournament. In order to win games in late March, UCF will need to figure out their defense that was ranked 118th in KenPom to finish the regular season.

8. BYU

Best Wins:

• No. 6 Iowa State (home)
• No. 10 Texas Tech (home)
• No. 23 Wisconsin (home)

Worst Losses:

• UCF (home)
• Cincinnati (away)

BYU is probably one of the most volatile teams in the country. Dealing with different injuries to important players, the Cougars finished with an underwhelming 9-9 record in the Big 12 this year.

However, BYU has a weapon that nobody else in the country has, AJ Dybantsa. The nation's leading scorer is very impressive and can go off for over 30 points any given night. Alongside Robert Wright III, Dybantsa could lead the Cougars to a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The thing that BYU lacks the most, is first half energy.

Especially on the defensive side. Due to multiple losses towards the end of the season, BYU has dropped out of the AP top-25. But, with big wins against Iowa State and Texas Tech heading into the Big 12 tournament, BYU has shown its ability to win even with the numerous injuries suffered on its roster.

Photo by Logan Wride

On the Bubble

9. West Virginia

Best Wins:

• No. 19 BYU (home)
• No. 22 Kansas (home)
• UCF (away)

Worst Losses:

• Utah (home)
• Kansas State (away)

West Virginia finished its season last year in heartbreaking fashion being left out of the NCAA tournament over UNC who was 1-12 in quad one games compared to West Virginia’s 6-10 quad one record.

This year, West Virginia is once again on the bubble and will need strong play in the Big 12 tournament to make a case for the NCAA tournament committee. In quad one games this year, West Virginia is 5-7 with big wins over no. 22 Kansas and no. 19 BYU. But losses to Utah and Kansas State really hurt their resume.

West Virginia has a top 20 defensive efficiency ranking per Kenpom but their slow tempo offense is what kills them. In their loss to Kansas State, the Mountaineers scored only 63 points and shot 39% from the field.

10. Cincinnati

Best Wins:

• No. 2 Iowa State (home)
• No. 8 Kansas (away)
• BYU (home)

Worst Losses:

• Eastern Michigan (home)
• Xavier (away)

Coach Wes Miller miraculously turned around Cincinnati's slow start to the season and Big 12 play after a loss on Feb. 5th to West Virginia at home. The Bearcats were 3-7 in the Big 12 and 11-12 on the year which included a loss to Eastern Michigan at home before then.

But since Feb. 5th, the Bearcats are 6-2 with big wins against Kansas and BYU. Even with the late surge, Cincinnati is considered by many bracketologists one of the first four teams out of the NCAA tournament and unless the Bearcats stay hot in the Big 12 tournament, will not make it in.

Out of the field

11. Arizona State

Best Wins:

• No. 13 Texas Tech (home)
• No. 14 Kansas (home)
• Texas (neutral site)

Worst Losses:

• Colorado (away)
• West Virginia (home)

After an underwhelming finish to the season, Arizona State fired its coach, Bobby Hurley, and will look to rebuild. Arizona State was led this year by senior guard Moe Odum.

12. Oklahoma State

Best Wins:

• No. 25 UCF (home)
• No. 16 BYU (home)
• Texas A&M (home)

Worst Losses:

• Colorado (away)
• Arizona State (away)

Oklahoma State hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2021 but will look into next year with some hope after head coach Steve Lutz’s second year with the program. Finishing 18-13, there is momentum building in Stillwater.

13. Colorado

Best Wins:

• TCU (home)
• Arizona State (away)
• Portland State (home)

Worst Losses:

• Northern Colorado (home)
• West Virginia (away)

Colorado almost pulled off the upset of the year against Arizona to end the year but ultimately fell short. If Colorado is able to retain a lot of its roster next year, the Buffaloes could be dangerous. Its center Elijah Malone, was the team's only senior this year and averaged only 13.8 minutes per game.

14. Baylor

Best Wins:

• Oklahoma State (away)
• West Virginia (away)
• UCF (away)

Worst Losses:

• Kansas State (away)
• Memphis (away)

Head Coach Scott Drew was put on blast towards the beginning of the season after welcoming James Nnaji to the team who was the first formerly drafted player to play college basketball.

The voices ended up quieting down as Baylor underperformed this year after the loss of VJ Edgecomb to the draft and Robert Wright III to the transfer portal. With freshman star Tounde Yessoufou projected to be drafted in the first round, Baylor will need to continue to rebuild to return to the NCAA tournament.

15. Utah

Best Wins:

• TCU (home)
• West Virginia (away)
• CA Baptist (home)

Worst Losses:

• Cal Poly (home)
• Grand Canyon (neutral site)

In coach Alex Jensen’s first year at Utah, the Utes finished 2-16 in the Big 12. Jensen and the Utes will need to work a lot on their defense in the offseason that was ranked 213th in efficiency per KenPom. But if they can build around the junior star Terrence Brown, Utah could be good in coach Jensen’s second year.

16. Kansas State

Best Wins:

• West Virginia (home)
• Creighton (away)
• Baylor (home)

Worst Losses:

• Bowling Green (home)
• Cincinnati (home)

After making the Elite 8 in his first year, Jerome Tang wasn’t able to get Kansas State back to the tournament after that. With his expensive firing, the Wildcats will need to rebuild their team and do everything they can to bring back PJ Haggerty, who was fourth in the nation in scoring.

Photo by No Coast Media

The Big 12 tournament will reveal more where teams are at before the NCAA tournament and will be an opportunity for teams to build momentum.