Oklahoma State, Utah and Kansas State form the bottom tier of the rugged conference
Welcome to a new weekly feature on the Hotline. We’ll break down Big 12 basketball using key metrics (NET rankings, KenPom ratings, etc.), our observations and a dose of old-fashioned sarcasm (when needed) — all in the name of providing fans with the state-of-play in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.
(Results listed for games in the past week.)
1. Iowa State (10-1)
Results: beat Morgan State 99-72
Best win: Marquette
Worst loss: Auburn
NET ranking: 8
Comment: The Cyclones open conference play Dec. 30 with a trip to Boulder, a difficult assignment because of the altitude. They are undoubtedly aware, having lost decisively in Provo last season.
2. Kansas (9-2)
Results: beat Brown 87-53
Best win: Duke
Worst loss: Creighton
NET ranking: 12
Comment: Michigan State is doing its part to prop up KU’s resume with five consecutive wins. North Carolina? Not so much.
3. West Virginia (9-2)
Results: beat Mercyhurst 67-46
Best win: Gonzaga
Worst loss: Louisville
NET ranking: 33
Comment: The Mountaineers need to hold their own through the first half of conference play, then stack wins when the schedule eases in February.
4. Baylor (7-3)
Results: Did not play
Best win: St. John’s
Worst loss: UConn
NET ranking: 21
Comment: There’s no telling how the Bears will perform after their 16-day break — yep, 16! — but at least they have Arlington Baptist as a bridge to the start of Big 12 play.
5. Houston (8-3)
Results: beat Texas A&M-CC 87-51
Best win: Butler
Worst loss: San Diego State
NET ranking: 6
Comment: Lukewarm take: If the Cougars aren’t 7-0 in conference when they head to Lawrence on Jan. 25, something has gone wrong.
6. Arizona State (9-2)
Results: beat UMass 78-62 
Best win: Saint Mary’s
Worst loss: Florida
NET ranking: 50
Comment: Super-freshman Jayden Quaintance’s uptick in production in recent weeks has been impossible to miss. If he maintains the current level, ASU should stay on track for an NCAA bid.
7. Cincinnati (10-1)
Results: beat Dayton 66-59 and Grambling State 84-49
Best win: Dayton
Worst loss: Villanova
NET ranking: 18
Comment: The victory over Dayton does wonders for UC’s resume given that the Flyers have beaten both UConn and Marquette and lost close games to North Carolina and Iowa State.
8. Texas Tech (9-2)
Results: beat Lamar 101-57
Best win: DePaul
Worst loss: St. Joseph’s
NET ranking: 17
Comment: No team — not just in the Big 12 but in any conference — has a more inexplicable NET ranking. All nine of TTU’s victories are against Quad III and IV opponents.
9. Colorado (9-2)
Results: beat Bellarmine 79-55
Best win: UConn
Worst loss: Michigan State
NET ranking: 77
Comment: Several teams have reasonably manageable schedules in the initial weeks of conference play. Colorado is not one of them. If the Buffs are .500 (or better) when February arrives, we’ll be mildly surprised.
10. Brigham Young (9-2)
Results: beat Florida A&M 103-57
Best win: NC State
Worst loss: Providence
NET ranking: 44
Comment: Everything about the Cougars’ performance to date suggests a season on the NCAA bubble, with their ultimate fate dependent on the fluid dynamics of the final weeks.
11. Arizona (6-5)
Results: beat Central Michigan 94-51
Best win: Davidson
Worst loss: Wisconsin
NET ranking: 25
Comment: We’re used to seeing the Wildcats with a top-10 position in the Pomeroy offensive efficiency ratings, which makes their current spot (33rd) so jarring.
12. UCF (9-2)
Results: beat Jacksonville 86-66
Best win: Texas A&M
Worst loss: LSU
NET ranking: 80
Comment: In the span of three weeks and a few days in January, UCF plays Kansas twice, Iowa State, Houston and both Arizona schools (on the road). Good luck with that.
13. TCU (7-4)
Results: beat Montana State 82-48
Best win: Xavier
Worst loss: Santa Clara
NET ranking: 73
Comment: If not for the Xavier victory, which was made possible by a rally in the final six minutes, the Horned Frogs would have nothing whatsoever of note on their resume.
14. Oklahoma State (8-3)
Results: beat Oral Roberts 86-74
Best win: Miami
Worst loss: FAU
NET ranking: 109
Comment: At least the Big 12 basketball season can’t be any worse in Stillwater than the Big 12 football season.
15. Utah (8-3)
Results: lost to Iowa 95-88
Best win: None
Worst loss: Saint Mary’s
NET ranking: 63
Comment: The Utes no longer have the worst non-conference schedule strength in Division I. They’re up to No. 362 in the Pomeroy ratings, ahead of Columbia and George Washington.
16. Kansas State (6-5)
Results: lost to Wichita State 84-65
Best win: George Washington
Worst loss: Liberty
NET ranking: 122
Comment: We checked because we were curious: KSU coach Jerome Tang is under contract for the rest of the decade.
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Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.