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; NET rankings through Monday.)
1. Iowa State (11-1/1-0)
Results: won at Colorado 79-69
Best win: Marquette
Worst loss: Auburn
NET ranking: 6
Comment: A double-digit win on the road in conference play, at altitude, with just 22-percent shooting from 3-point range and as many turnovers as assists — not a bad way for the Cyclones to start their march to the conference title.
2. West Virginia (10-2/1-0)
Results: won at Kansas 62-61
Best win: Kansas
Worst loss: Louisville
NET ranking: 35
Comment: More impressive than the Mountaineers’ first win at Kansas? Doing it without star forward Tucker DeVries. Goodness, gracious. What a way to start the Big 12 season.
3. Kansas (9-3/0-1)
Results: lost to West Virginia 62-61
Best win: Duke
Worst loss: Creighton
NET ranking: 15
Comment: The Jayhawks are 0-1 in conference play for the first time since 1991 and, frankly, we need a few days to digest the loss. They don’t have that luxury, however, with a trip to UCF this weekend.
4. Baylor (9-3/1-0)
Results: beat Arlington Baptist 107-53 and Utah 81-56
Best win: St. John’s
Worst loss: UConn
NET ranking: 21
Comment: The first in a series of Big 12 Saturday showdowns arrives this weekend when the Bears visit Iowa State with early pole-position at stake. (Unless West Virginia says otherwise.)
5. Houston (9-3/1-0)
Results: won at Oklahoma State 60-47
Best win: Butler
Worst loss: San Diego State
NET ranking: 5
Comment: The Cougars are a great example of resume contradicting NET ranking. With no Quad I wins thus far and a non-conference schedule that’s merely solid, they should be somewhere in the 20s or 30s.
6. Brigham Young (10-2/1-0)
Results: beat Arizona State 76-56
Best win: Arizona State
Worst loss: Providence
NET ranking: 46
Comment: It says a little about ASU’s performance thus far and a lot about BYU’s schedule to date that the outcome constitutes the Cougars’ best win. But the situation gets very real very fast with a trip to Houston this weekend.
7. Cincinnati (10-2/0-1)
Results: lost at Kansas State 70-67
Best win: Dayton
Worst loss: Villanova
NET ranking: 27
Comment: The loss in Manhattan prompted a seven-position slide in the NET. It could have been significantly worse for the Bearcats.
8. Arizona State (9-3/0-1)
Results: lost at Brigham Young 76-56
Best win: Saint Mary’s
Worst loss: BYU
NET ranking: 51
Comment: If you’re going to lose by 20, might as well lose by 20 when nobody in Tempe is paying attention.
9. Colorado (9-3/0-1)
Results: lost to Iowa State 79-69
Best win: UConn
Worst loss: Michigan State
NET ranking: 84
Comment: It only seems like Tad Boyle’s program spends every week of every season with a NET ranking in the 70s or 80s.
10. Arizona (7-5/1-0)
Results: beat TCU 90-81
Best win: Davidson
Worst loss: Wisconsin
NET ranking: 24
Comment: The Wildcats get their longest Big 12 roadtrip out of the way early with the schlep to Cincinnati and West Virginia later this week. After that, the few remaining two-game swings are relatively short.
11. UCF (10-2/1-0)
Results: won at Texas Tech 87-83
Best win: Texas A&M
Worst loss: LSU
NET ranking: 80
Comment: That’s six consecutive wins for the Knights, who host Kansas this weekend and have a better chance than we would have imagined to extend their streak to seven.
12. Texas Tech (9-3/0-1)
Results: lost to UCF 87-83
Best win: DePaul
Worst loss: St. Joseph’s
NET ranking: 19
Comment: No team makes us wonder if the Big 12 has somehow rigged the NET more than Texas Tech, which has a lofty ranking, a terrible non-conference schedule and no Quad I or II wins. (We’re joking, mostly.)
13. Kansas State (7-5/1-0)
Results: beat Cincinnati 70-67
Best win: George Washington
Worst loss: Liberty
NET ranking: 106
Comment: With TCU and Oklahoma State up next (on the road), the Wildcats have a chance to build on their victory over the Bearcats.
14. TCU (7-5/0-1)
Results: lost at Arizona 90-81
Best win: Xavier
Worst loss: Santa Clara
NET ranking: 76
Comment: Is it too early for a big game? Not if you are 0-1 in conference play and have a home date with Kansas State up next. The Horned Frogs cannot afford to lose.
15. Oklahoma State (8-4/0-1)
Results: lost to Houston 60-47
Best win: Miami
Worst loss: FAU
NET ranking: 111
Comment: If you’re curious how the bottom of the conferences compare, consider: The SEC’s lowest-ranked team in the NET is No. 88 South Carolina — 23 spots ahead of OSU.
16. Utah (8-4/0-1)
Results: lost at Baylor 81-56
Best win: None
Worst loss: Saint Mary’s
NET ranking: 64
Comment: It’s a tad early to start the Craig Smith Watch, but that time could arrive sooner than we expected.
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