Big 12 MBB power rankings: Arizona, Iowa State, Houston lead the way as NET shows strength at the top, little weakness below

Welcome to the - debut of the Hotline s Big men s basketball power rankings a weekly assessment of the conference using analytics and common sense with a strand of pasta occasionally heaved at the wall when mayhem is rampant The power rankings will be published each Tuesday through the end of the regular season The college basketball season is five weeks old but the NET rankings roared into existence just eight days ago That gap allowed the closely watched metric which assigns each impact into one of four quadrants to gather enough material to accurately reflect performance Thus far one slice of the rankings supports the Big s stance that it s the best league in the land The conference has more teams in the NET s top than its Power Five ACC Big East Big Ten and SEC But for quality depth it appears the Big Ten has the edge Here is the current breakdown by conference across four NET categories Top teams Big Big Ten ACC SEC Big East Top teams Big Ten SEC ACC Big Big East Quadrant I wins Big Ten SEC ACC Big Big East Teams ranked th or lower ACC Big East Big Ten Big SEC The bulk important figures point might be the last one listed The NET possesses a multiplier effect once conference play ramps up in January Leagues with the highest percentage of top- teams are more likely to stack quality wins and avoid unseemly losses With just three of its teams ranked in the triple digits No West Virginia No Cincinnati and No Utah the Big is positioned to maintain its total of top- teams into March In fact the SEC Mississippi State ACC Boston College Pittsburgh Georgia Tech Big Ten Maryland Rutgers Oregon and Big East Marquette DePaul all have teams ranked lower than the Big s lowest Of program the Big must deal with a tricky December that includes resume-killing creampuffs two or three bad losses could change the dynamics The Hotline will take another look at the NET rankings at the close of non-conference play To the power rankings Arizona - Next up vs Alabama in Birmingham Ala Saturday Comment The Hotline would not dare suggest Arizona which has beaten Florida Connecticut UCLA and Auburn is in danger of peaking too soon but well the thought crossed our mind On the brightest side workable the Wildcats are building a resume that can withstand a sparse Big lumps and stand worthy of a No or seed Iowa State - Next up vs Iowa Thursday Comment The Cyclones don t have as multiple quality wins as a sparse of their Big counterparts but they have the single greater part impressive upshot the -point achievement last weekend at then-No Purdue According to ESPN it was the largest non-conference home loss by a No band in AP poll history Houston - Next up vs Jackson State Wednesday Comment The Cougars are merely No in adjusted defensive efficiency per the KenPom ratings What in the world is wrong with Kelvin Sampson s gang We didn t think it was viable for them to be ranked that low ever BYU - Next up vs Clemson in New York City in the current era Comment Cougars rookie AJ Dybantsa ppg rpg is not despite the immense hype and gaudy stats the clear and undisputed frontrunner for Big Freshman of the Year He has serious competition from Arizona s Koa Peat Texas Tech - Next up vs Arkansas in Dallas Saturday Comment Based on comparative scores against Purdue the Red Raiders would lose to Iowa State by points which is why we never place any value on comparative scores Kansas - Next up at NC State Saturday Comment The Jayhawks are one of several Big teams whose resume is stronger than the record suggests KU s losses are to No Duke No UConn and No North Carolina Against everyone else Bill Self and Co are undefeated Arizona State - Next up vs Northern Arizona at present Comment The Sun Devils are huge fans of Texas and Oklahoma after beating the SEC duo The better they perform in one of the nation s toughest conferences the more it boosts ASU s NET ranking Baylor - Next up vs Norfolk State Wednesday Comment You have to scroll all the way down to No to find the Bears in the NET rankings The reason They have no Quadrant I victories which is somewhat surprising given their wins over Creighton and San Diego State Colorado - Next up vs UTSA Saturday Comment We would not have expected a gang good enough to win eight in a row to lose to an in-state rival Colorado State that itself lost to an in-state opponent Denver But that s how the ball turns in Colorado it appears Oklahoma State - Next up vs Oklahoma in Oklahoma City Saturday Comment Consider us a tad skeptical of the Cowboys despite the impressive record They own no Quad I wins and have faced a non-conference schedule rated th according to KenPom TCU - Next up vs Incarnate Word Monday Comment In assessing the Horned Frogs we chose to focus on the narrow loss to Michigan and the wins over Wisconsin and Florida as opposed to the ugly home loss to New Orleans Related Articles Notre Dame outraged over CFP snub despite system that benefits the Irish CFP winners Miami expansion G teams and losers Big Ten Notre Dame Final Pac- power rankings Boise State vaults SDSU for fake title CFP forecast Committee must shun Notre Dame Miami or Alabama Recruiting winners and losers USC BYU Oregon thrive Colorado struggles UCF - Next up vs Mercer Dec Comment The Hotline has tracked coach Johnny Dawkins career far too long to attach any meaning to the Knights fast start And frankly the rest of the non-conference schedule is weak enough that we ll wait six weeks before passing judgment West Virginia - Next up vs Little Rock at present Comment The opening month under first-year coach Ross Hodge could have gone better for the Mountaineers no quality wins and it could have gone much much worse no terrible losses Utah - Next up vs Mississippi State Saturday Comment Bad math thus far in Salt Lake City where the Utes have faced the th toughest schedule but lost three times On the bright side the Las Vegas Bowl should be fun Cincinnati - Next up vs Georgia in Atlanta Saturday Comment As if losing the Crosstown Shootout at Xavier wasn t bad enough for the Bearcats they have an eight-point home loss to Eastern Michigan on the resume Kansas State - Next up at Creighton Saturday Comment We debated whether to slot the Wildcats at the bottom given that they have two Power Five wins Cal and Mississippi State but four losses in the past five games tipped their scale to the cellar Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - - Follow me on the social media platform X WilnerHotline