NCAA Basketball Report News

The Big 12 loves its basketball.

According to conference commissioner Brett Yormark, the only better league for the sport is the NBA.

Eight Big 12 teams reached the NCAA Tournament last March, with six winning at least one game in the Big Dance and Arizona reaching the Final Four.

With the start of the 2026-27 regular season quickly approaching, the conference has released its preseason media poll. It will serve as our first installment of this year’s Big 12 basketball power rankings, which will be updated weekly upon the start of league play in January.

Here’s where media members covering the Big 12, including myself, picked the conference’s 16 teams to finish this season.

1. Arizona Wildcats (Last season: 36-3, 16-2 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 1
• Rated No. 5 nationally by KenPom

Fresh off last year’s Final Four run, the Wildcats are once again the Big 12’s team to beat. Motiejus Krivas, a 7-foot-2 big man and preseason All-American, will anchor Arizona’s operation, alongside ascending forward Ivan Kharchenkov, five-star freshman guard Caleb Holt and a number of key transfer additions.

2. Houston Cougars (Last season: 30-7, 14-4 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 2
• Rated No. 3 nationally by KenPom

Kelvin Sampson may have lost four starters to the NBA, but senior power forward Jojo Tugler will set Houston’s traditional tone of elite defense and rabid rebounding. The Cougars have also added promising transfers from the mid-major ranks as well as former standout LSU point guard Dedan Thomas Jr.

3. Kansas Jayhawks (Last season: 24-11, 12-6 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 3
• Rated No. 8 nationally by KenPom

Two words: Tyran Stokes. The nation’s No. 1 prospect joins Bill Self in Lawrence as an immediate Player of the Year candidate at both the Big 12 and national level. The courts have been kind to Kansas, with fifth-year stars Tre White, Melvin Council Jr. and Trey Kaufman-Renn currently eligible for the Jayhawks.

4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Last season: 23-11, 12-6 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 6
• Rated No. 12 nationally by KenPom

While JT Toppin is still recovering from injury, the Red Raiders retooled in a major way with explosive mid-major scorers Cruz Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn landing in Lubbock, along with former Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams back in town as well. Don’t forget about Donovan Atwell, who shot 46% from 3-point range last year and received an injunction to play again in 2026-27.

5. Iowa State Cyclones (Last season: 29-8, 12-6 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 4
• Rated No. 6 nationally by KenPom

Tamin Lipsey will lead the Cyclone charge, and former Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Jaqwaun Johnson headlines an encouraging transfer class as T.J. Otzelberger searches for his fourth Sweet 16 berth in six seasons at Iowa State.

6. BYU Cougars (Last season: 23-12, 9-9 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 5
• Rated No. 33 nationally by KenPom

With a top-tier point guard (Rob Wright III), potential NBA lottery pick (Bruce Branch III) and dynamic veteran big (Jaxon Kohler), Kevin Young’s Cougars should be much deeper this season and put up plenty of points. If BYU can figure out its defense prior to conference play, watch out.

7. Baylor Bears (Last season: 17-17, 6-12 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 8
• Rated No. 35 nationally by KenPom

Scott Drew will look to rebound from his worst season in Waco in nearly two decades. A promising recruiting class, especially five-star prospect Dylan Mingo, appears poised to put Baylor back in the top half of the Big 12.

8. TCU Horned Frogs (Last season: 23-12, 11-7 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 7
• Rated No. 49 nationally by KenPom

The Horned Frogs have a solid returning core from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad, including stretch big Xavier Edmonds, crafty guard Brock Harding, and former BYU Cougar Tanner Toolson.

9. Cincinnati Bearcats (Last season: 18-15, 9-9 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 11
• Rated No. 31 nationally by KenPom

Jerrod Calhoun parlayed his Utah State success into the head job at his alma mater, which hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Calhoun will attempt to change that with a heavy dose of transfer pieces.

10. West Virginia Mountaineers (Last season: 21-14, 9-9 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 9
• Rated No. 41 nationally by KenPom

The Mountaineers captured the College Basketball Crown last season, and while most of the players from that run have moved on, Ross Hodge landed a historic recruit in point guard Miles Sadler to build around moving forward.

11. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Last season: 20-15, 6-12 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 12
• Rated No. 45 nationally by KenPom

The Cowboys are in the midst of their longest NCAA Tournament drought since the 1980s. Oklahoma State has gotten better each season under Steve Lutz, but the pressure is heating up ahead of 2026-27.

12. Arizona State Sun Devils (Last season: 17-16, 7-11 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 10
• Rated No. 71 nationally by KenPom

Randy Bennett takes over in Tempe following a quarter century at Saint Mary’s, where he won nearly 600 games and was a seven-time WCC Coach of the Year. International imports Paulius Murauskas and Emmanuel Innocenti, each coming from the WCC, will help Bennett begin his rebuild of the Sun Devils.

13. UCF Knights (Last season: 21-12, 9-9 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 13
• Rated No. 57 nationally by KenPom

Johnny Dawkins’ Knights dealt with heavy roster turnover this offseason and will thus be forced to operate as an underdog, although veteran sharpshooter Riley Kugel is eligible to play after receiving an injunction.

14. Kansas State Wildcats (Last season: 12-20, 3-15 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 16
• Rated No. 96 nationally by KenPom

First-year head coach Casey Anthony has a tall task ahead of him in completely rebuilding the Wildcats with 14 newcomers. Anything above a bottom-three finish would qualify as a successful Year 1 in Manhattan.

15. Colorado Buffaloes (Last season: 17-16, 7-11 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 14
• Rated No. 86 nationally by KenPom

Returning to the Big 12 has been a tough transition for Colorado, who is 10-28 in league play over the past two seasons. Can Tad Boyle overachieve in 2026-27 with a seemingly unspectacular roster?

16. Utah Runnin’ Utes (Last season: 10-22, 2-16 Big 12)

• My ranking: No. 15
• Rated No. 84 nationally by KenPom

It’s a pivotal year for Alex Jensen, who looks to avoid another finish in the Big 12 cellar. Utah Valley transfer Jackson Holcombe and a number of international prospects will attempt to build Utah back into a perennial tournament team, having been absent from the Big Dance for a decade now.