Big 12 Power Rankings: January 25

Three big upsets, a dominant road performance, and a dramatic escape act has resulted in yet another four-way tie atop the Big 12 leaderboard. The top three teams in last week's Power Rankings were all upset this week as Oklahoma fell at Iowa State, Kansas got smoked by Oklahoma State, and Texas knocked off West Virginia. The Sooners rebounded with a dominant performance against #13 Baylor while #6 West Virginia needed a miracle to escape Lubbock with a win. With ten more conference games in the books, where does each team stand in this week's Power Rankings?

#1 Oklahoma Sooners: 16-2 (5-2), #1 in AP Poll

Previously: #1

Last Week: at #19 Iowa State L 82-77, at #13 Baylor W 82-72
This Week: 1/26 vs Texas Tech, 1/30 at LSU

Oklahoma jumped to #1 in the AP Poll last Monday, their first time atop the national rankings in more than 25 years. Less than nine hours later, the Sooners were on the wrong end of an 82-77 decision in Ames. However, OU didn't feel sorry for themselves for very long. The Sooners rebounded with a dominant 82-72 win at #13 Baylor on Saturday. The final score wasn't indicative of how one-sided this affair was. After controlling much of the first half, Oklahoma blew things open in the second half, leading Baylor 82-58 before a 14-0 run by the Bears made the final score more respectable. Oklahoma will get two more chances to prove why they belong atop our Power Rankings this week with a home contest against Texas Tech before traveling to Baton Rouge for a tough showdown with Ben Simmons and LSU as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

#2 West Virginia Mountaineers: 16-3 (5-2), #9 in AP Poll

Previously: #2

Last Week: vs Texas L 56-49, at Texas Tech W 80-76
This Week: 1/26 vs Kansas State, 1/20 at Florida

Much like Oklahoma, West Virginia suffered a deflating loss early in the week. After jumping to #6 in the polls, the Mountaineers overlooked an undermanned Texas team, eventually falling to the Longhorns 56-49 in Morgantown. The teams traded blows for much of the first half, but Texas created some separation in the opening minutes of the final frame that proved to be too much for WVU. Bob Huggins' squad bounced back with a gritty road win against Texas Tech on Saturday. Despite trailing 72-67 with about 2:00 remaining, the Mountaineers buckled down and finished off the Red Raiders with a 13-4 run to end the game. West Virginia will have to take care of business this week to remain #2 in our rankings.

#3 Kansas Jayhawks: 16-3 (5-2), #4 in AP Poll

Previously: #3

Last Week: at Oklahoma State L 86-67, vs Texas W 76-67
This Week: 1/25 at #14 Iowa State, 1/30 vs #20 Kentucky

Bill Self just can't win in Stillwater. The KU head coach fell to 3-7 against his alma mater in his coaching career after an 86-67 loss to Oklahoma State in which the Jayhawks never looked competitive. The Pokes dominated the second half to eventually run away from Kansas, securing their first marquee win of the season. The Jayhawks returned to Allen Fieldhouse only to struggle for the first 30 minutes against Texas. A final push helped KU prevail 76-67. Things don't get any easier for Self and his team this week as Kansas travels to #14 Iowa State tonight before hosting #20 Kentucky on Saturday.

#4 Baylor Bears: 15-4 (5-2), #17 in AP Poll

Previously: #4

Last Week: vs Kansas State W 79-72, vs #1 Oklahoma L 82-72
This Week: 1/27 at Oklahoma State, 1/30 vs Georgia

After a surge that briefly put the Bears atop the Big 12 standings, Baylor cooled off this week with a pair of tough games. It took two overtimes for BU to put away an under-matched Kansas State team in Waco. Baylor then found themselves in the unenviable position of having to face a top-ranked Oklahoma team coming off a loss. Scott Drew and the Bears couldn't do much to stop the Sooners' attack, eventually falling by 10 thanks to a late surge that made the final score look closer than the game actually was. Baylor has two winnable games this week, traveling to Oklahoma State before hosting Georgia.

#5 Iowa State Cyclones: 15-4 (4-3), #14 in AP Poll

Previously: #6

Last Week: vs #1 Oklahoma W 82-77, at TCU W 73-60
This Week: 1/25 vs #4 Kansas, 1/30 at #5 Texas A&M

Iowa State was the only Big 12 team to go 2-0 this week, thanks to a pair of convincing wins. The Cyclones opened the week by topping #1 Oklahoma, the program's first win over a top-ranked team since 1950. Not long after the festivities ended in Ames, ISU traveled to Fort Worth and used their balanced offensive attack to sink the Horned Frogs. The Cyclones can make a major jump with another 2-0 effort this week. Iowa State returns home to host #4 Kansas before traveling to face #5 Texas A&M.

#6 Texas Longhorns: 12-7 (4-3)

Previously: #5

Last Week: at #6 West Virginia W 56-49, at #3 Kansas L 76-67
This Week: 1/26 vs TCU, 1/30 vs Vanderbilt

The Longhorns have to be pretty satisfied with their 1-1 record after a week in which the team had to face two ranked foes on the road. As mentioned above, Texas had to navigate through Winter Storm Jonas before knocking off 6^th-ranked West Virginia 56-49 in Morgantown. The Longhorns were able to build some breathing room early in the second half, eventually taking home the seven-point victory. UT looked like they were going to come away with two improbable wins this week after leading #3 Kansas for much of the game in Lawrence. However, it wasn't meant to be as a late KU run left UT in the dust. The Longhorns have two great opportunities for wins this week as they host TCU and Vanderbilt.

#7 Kansas State Wildcats: 12-7 (2-5)

Previously: #7

Last Week: at #13 Baylor L 79-72, vs Oklahoma State W 89-73
This Week: 1/26 at #9 West Virginia, 1/30 vs Mississippi

After starting 1-4 in league play, the Wildcats had a pretty solid week. Kansas State took 13^th-ranked Baylor into double-overtime before eventually falling by seven. KSU then returned home to dominate Oklahoma State. The Wildcats led wire-to-wire against the Cowboys, securing a 16-point win that moved K-State into a tie for seventh place in the league. Bruce Weber and his team can exact revenge on West Virginia this week after falling to the Mountaineers in double overtime earlier this month. The Cats then return home to face Mississippi on Saturday as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

#8 Oklahoma State Cowboys: 10-9 (2-5)

Previously: #9

Last Week: vs #3 Kansas W 86-67, at Kansas State L 89-73
This Week: 1/27 vs #17 Baylor, 1/30 at Auburn

Oklahoma State jumps one spot to #8 in this week's Power Rankings thanks to their dominant win over #3 Kansas on Tuesday. The Cowboys and Jayhawks went back and forth in the first half, but it was a late run that blew things open in Stillwater, giving the Pokes their third straight home win over Kansas. After the big win, OSU suffered a big loss. The Cowboys never led in an 89-73 loss to Kansas State in Manhattan. Oklahoma State returns home to face #13 Baylor on Wednesday before traveling to Auburn on Saturday.

#9 Texas Tech Red Raiders: 12-6 (2-5)

Previously: #8

Last Week: at TCU W 76-67, vs #6 West Virginia L 80-76
This Week: 1/26 at #1 Oklahoma, 1/30 at Arkansas

The Red Raiders overcame the loss of their top center, Norense Odiase, on Monday to top TCU in Fort Worth. Texas Tech jumped out to an early lead, then held off a late run by the Frogs to claim their second Big 12 win of the season. Again without Odiase, TTU went blow-to-blow with West Virginia. The Red Raiders led the Mountaineers by five with just over two minutes remaining before a late surge allowed WVU to escape with the win. Texas Tech will have their hands full this week with road games against #1 Oklahoma and a fast-paced Arkansas team.

#10 TCU Horned Frogs: 9-10 (1-6)

Previously: #10

Last Week: vs Texas Tech L 76-67, vs #19 Iowa State L 73-60
This Week: 1/26 at Texas, 1/30 vs Tennessee

TCU was the only Big 12 team to go winless this week, dropping a pair of home contests to Texas Tech and #19 Iowa State. The Frogs put together an impressive second half run to grab a brief lead over the Red Raiders on Monday, however another late-game collapse by TCU gave Texas Tech the victory. The Frogs returned home on Saturday, only to fall to an Iowa State team that held a significant advantage in nearly every facet of the game. With the two defeats, TCU now has the Big 12's worst point differential, losing by an average of 11.9 points per game. The Frogs face both UT's this week - first traveling to Austin looking to sweep the season series with the Longhorns before returning home to face former Texas head coach Rick Barnes and Tennessee.