The Big 12 is wasting no time looking like a heavyweight again. Five teams are sitting in the updated AP Top 25, several others have opened fast, and the first week already shuffled the league’s pecking order.
Arizona took the biggest hit. The Wildcats are still a top Big 12 team, but their season-opening loss to UCLA knocked them seven spots to No. 12 in the AP Poll and pushed them out of the top spot in these rankings.
They’ve got a quick chance to settle things down, starting Tuesday at McKale Center against Northern Arizona. After that comes a road trip to Auburn on Friday and then a huge home game against No.
4 UConn next Wednesday.
That opening opened the door for Houston, which moves into No. 1 after an 18-point demolition of Cal on Sunday night. The Cougars are 2-0 and already look like a team capable of chasing the Big 12 title and another Final Four run. They also figure to be one of the most interesting style clashes on the schedule when they meet Arizona later this season.
Kansas lands at No. 2 after handling Fordham without Trey Kaufman-Renn and then rolling past Middle Tennessee State in TKR’s season debut. The longtime Purdue Boilermaker gives the Jayhawks a major boost in a frontcourt that looked like the one possible weak spot on an otherwise strong roster.
The bad news is the wrist injury to guard Melvin Council, who will miss the non-conference slate, but Kansas still looks positioned to keep rolling for now. Kentucky is next on Tuesday.
Texas Tech sits at No. 4 after taking care of Jackson State and Bethune-Cookman, though fifth-year seniors Darrion Williams and Donovan Atwell haven’t quite found their best form yet. The real measuring stick comes Tuesday against Illinois, a Final Four team from last season that brings back a ton of production.
BYU has been one of the early eye-openers. The Cougars beat Ohio State 94-83 in Salt Lake City and then hammered Omaha by 41.
They may actually look better without AJ Dybantsa, with Rob Wright running the show and Collin Chandler plus fifth-year senior Jaxon Kohler giving him real support. BYU has three more bye games before Washington opens Feast Week on Nov.
Iowa State, meanwhile, took one of the week’s most surprising losses, falling to Memphis 80-76 on a neutral floor in a game the Tigers controlled from the start. The Cyclones bounced back against Southern Miss, but they’ll need star point guard Tamin Lipsey to get back to his best if they want to push for a top-three spot in the league.
TCU is one of the biggest risers in KenPom, jumping from No. 52 to 39 after a 39-point win over Lindenwood and a 52-point win over Southern. The catch is that both opponents sit outside the top 270, and the Horned Frogs’ next two games are against UL Monroe and Milwaukee, so the first real test doesn’t arrive until Nov. 19 at home against Texas A&M.
Baylor has also done exactly what it was supposed to do, blowing out KenPom No. 317 Northwestern State and No.
357 Arkansas Pine Bluff. It’s not a demanding schedule, but the early signs from the backcourt depth have been encouraging.
Yale comes next Tuesday, which should tell fans a lot more.
West Virginia’s defense has been the headline so far, with Niagara and Stetson held to 46 and 53 points. Those are still modest tests - neither opponent is in the top 275 at KenPom - but the new-look Mountaineers, led by freshman Miles Sadler, get a much better read next Tuesday against Auburn.
Cincinnati had a rough one Monday night, falling at home to Minnesota 63-61 in a sluggish offensive showing. The Bearcats get a quick shot at recovery Saturday at Dayton, but they’ll need more dependable scoring beyond guard Tylen Riley if they want to start building an NCAA Tournament case.
Oklahoma State put up 118 points on Queens, one of the more eye-catching offensive outings of the young season. The first real exam comes Thursday at Texas A&M in College Station.
Arizona State is taking on a very different identity under Randy Bennett, and the early returns look a lot like what he built at Saint Mary’s: slow, controlled, and efficient. The Sun Devils are 354th out of 365 teams in pace, while also ranking in the top 25 in turnover rate and the top 50 in two-point rate. Hofstra is the first opponent on the schedule ranked in the top 150 at KenPom, so that game should say plenty about where this team stands.
UCF needed overtime to get past Florida Gulf Coast and wasn’t especially convincing in a 12-point win over Yale on Friday, but Dior Johnson’s 41 points on 13-for-15 shooting against the Eagles was a strong start to his second stint with the Knights. UCF is 2-0 and has two more opponents in the mid-200s at KenPom coming up, beginning with South Alabama.
Colorado had a rough offensive night against San Diego State, scoring just 17 points in the first half before clawing back and eventually falling. The Buffs live and die with guard Barrington Hargress, who scored half of their 66 points in the loss. San Diego is followed by Providence on Saturday, giving Colorado a real chance to make a statement.
Utah is also 2-0, but neither win has looked clean. The Utes edged Long Beach State by three at home and then beat Towson 67-57 in a game that never really felt comfortable. They’ll get a better gauge this Saturday against Washington, with Dayton and Minnesota also waiting later in the month.
And then there’s the Casey Alexander era at the bottom of the board, which began with a rough two-point loss to South Dakota State in a buy game. The Wildcats did bounce back with a 17-point win over Cal-State Northridge, but they still have a long way to go before they’re anywhere near Big 12 contention.
In Other News...
Arizona Faces Its Toughest Test Yet Against A Different Utah Team
Utah arrives in Tucson looking every bit like the kind of opponent that can expose where Arizona still has work to do. The Utes have been one of the stories of the season, and Josh Furlong of KSL.com pointed to the growth of quarterback Devon Dampier as a major reason why, along with the steadier culture coach Morgan Scalley has built around the program. For Arizona, it is a chance to measure itself against a team that has handled just about everything thrown its way.
The matchup also brings a few layers beyond the ranking and the reputation. Utahs offense has enough playmakers to stress a defense, while its own game plan on the other side figures to be shaped by how it wants to deal with Arizonas passing attack. Injury updates add another wrinkle, and the Utes enter the week with some uncertainty around key personnel even as they continue to look like a group built for late-season pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Perfect Season Faces A Ranked Test Fans Cant Ignore
Utah arrives in Tucson still unbeaten after a 28-20 win over BYU, and the matchup with No. 22 Arizona has the feel of a late-season checkpoint for a team that has handled every challenge so far. The Utes have been steady on both sides of the ball, with Devon Dampier giving them enough at quarterback to keep the offense moving and a defense that has made life difficult for opponents all year.
Arizona, meanwhile, is coming off a one-point escape against TCU and gets a chance to measure itself against one of the country's most complete teams. The Wildcats have enough offensive punch to make this interesting, but Utah's balance and defensive consistency create a tough ask, especially with the Utes still carrying the look of a team that has not yet found a reason to blink. [Read more 🡒]
Arizonas Young Frontcourt Has A Big Chance To Build Momentum
Arizona gets another early-season chance to settle in Tuesday night at McKale Center, where Northern Arizona comes in for a nonconference meeting that should give the Wildcats a chance to keep building rhythm. The matchup also puts the spotlight on a young Arizona frontcourt, with freshmen Caleb Holt and Caleb Holmes expected to be part of the story as the Wildcats look to stack consecutive wins and keep moving in the right direction.
Northern Arizona brings its own pieces to watch, including sophomore guard Chris Komin and freshman Lucas Toukam, but the bigger question for Arizona is how quickly its young bigs can turn these kinds of games into momentum. The Wildcats have long handled this series and will be expected to do so again, yet November games like this often matter less for the final margin than for how a teams newest players respond when the schedule gives them a manageable stage. [Read more 🡒]