Big 12 MBB power rankings: Arizona, Iowa State on top as ASU stays within range of the NCAAs in Bobby Hurley’s last season (or not)

Welcome to 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 Last week s edition can be unveiled here We are three months from Selection Sunday enough time for plots to twist and trajectories to change multiple times over But for one Big basketball project the endgame is rapidly coming into view And the picture is just as blurred as you would expect from Bobby Hurley and Arizona State Hurley s future in Tempe is a source of speculation each March and should be once again when the - season winds down Will the Sun Devils make the -team field and save his job What happens if they miss the cut They whiffed last spring and it wasn t close ASU s record - was the worst of Hurley s tenure But athletic director Graham Rossini opted to bring Hurley back for another year for the final year of his contract Would a berth in the NCAAs guarantee Hurley s return Only Rossini knows for certain But a third consecutive March without madness assuredly would lead to Hurley s dismissal after seasons And wouldn t you know it As the non-conference portion of the schedule winds down ASU - is on the bubble In fact you cannot be more bubblicious than the Sun Devils They would be the last crew in the NCAAs if the tournament were selected in the modern day according to ESPN s Bracketology They are No in the NET rankings well within the range of teams that sneak into the field and sometimes are left out They have just one quality win which is suboptimal but no bad losses which is positive and their non-conference schedule is ranked th nationally by KenPom com solid but not stout And according to BracketMatrix which aggregates NCAA Tournament projections from across the internet the Sun Devils are the best of the rest the first crew listed on the wrong side of the bubble In theory the next month will be telling The Sun Devils visit UCLA this week and host Oregon State before current for Christmas Their conference schedule begins in unforgiving fashion with trips to No BYU No Arizona and No Houston in the first five games We suspect that gauntlet won t spell doom for the Devils that they will scramble recover and approach the remainder of the schedule with just enough success to keep everyone guessing Nothing would better epitomize the Hurley era with all its nuance and confounding fluidity than for the Sun Devils to emerge as either the last crew in the NCAAs or the first company out Results and NET rankings through Monday Arizona - Development beat Alabama - NET ranking Comment No band anywhere has a better collection of wins than the Wildcats Florida UConn UCLA Auburn and Alabama But the NET algorithm sees four Quadrant IV results on Arizona s resume and cringes In contrast top-ranked Michigan has wins but only one qualifies as a Quad IV consequence Previous Iowa State - Results beat Iowa - and Eastern Illinois - NET ranking Comment Amazing upturn in the Cyclones adjusted offensive efficiency ranking per KenPom com over the past five years chronologically and If they remain in the top through conference play the Big title could follow Previous Houston - Results beat Jackson State - and New Orleans - NET ranking Comment The showdown with Arkansas on Saturday will be the Cougars third and final marquee affair outside of Big play They are - with a one-point preeminence over Auburn and a three-point loss to Tennessee Previous BYU - Results beat Clemson - and UC Riverside - NET ranking Comment Given the cupcake-filled upcoming schedule the Cougars should be - and perhaps ranked No for the first time in school history when they visit Texas Tech in the middle of January Previous Kansas - Effect beat NC State - OT NET ranking Comment Freshman wing Darryn Peterson potentially the first pick in the NBA Draft has been as good as advertised except for the part where he s hurt repeatedly and misses more than half of KU s early-season games Previous Texas Tech - Conclusion lost to Arkansas - NET ranking Comment For a brief period of time we considered Texas Tech a basketball school But the stars have realigned in Lubbock which would make former coach Mike Leach quite happy Previous Arizona State - Results beat Northern Arizona - and Santa Clara - NET ranking Comment Down points at halftime and without coach Bobby Hurley who was ejected the Sun Devils rallied to beat Santa Clara in Las Vegas over the weekend How long will the momentum last We ll know Wednesday night when they visit UCLA Previous Colorado - End beat UTSA - NET ranking Comment If the Buffaloes can avoid a bad loss in the next scant weeks they should enter conference play on the outskirts of the NCAA bubble Which is better than not being on the bubble at all Previous Baylor - Conclusion beat Norfolk State - NET ranking Comment The Bears have allowed at least points in five of their nine games often against third-rate competition If that keeps up forget about challenging for the Big title or an NCAA bid Previous Oklahoma State - Impact lost to Oklahoma - NET ranking Comment The Cowboys are just one meeting ahead of their success pace at this point last season But will they avoid another -game losing streak at the start of conference play Seems like a solid bet Previous TCU - Results beat Incarnate Word - NET ranking Comment Big teams have deftly avoided resume-killing Quad IV losses with the exception of Utah Cal Poly Cincinnati Eastern Michigan and yes the Horned Frogs New Orleans Previous Related Articles Big prepares for private capital Why the million deal suits the conference and its campuses Pac- MBB power rankings Gonzaga Utah State on top as NET suggests bids for teams in restructured conference Mailbag Pac- bowls in depend on CFP as LA Bowl shutters Recruiting outlook for new HCs at Cal UCLA Stanford Oregon State New Pac- waiting for CFP format resolution to set schedule champ challenge UCF - Results did not play NET ranking Comment How will the Knights respond after a -day break We expect a rough first half against Mercer on Wednesday followed by a strong showing in the second Previous West Virginia - Results beat Little Rock - lost to Ohio State - OT NET ranking Comment The Mountaineers record is weaker than it seems considering their non-conference schedule strength is No per KenPom out of Division I teams Nobody in the Big has faced a softer lineup Previous Kansas State - Outcome beat Creighton - NET ranking Comment Handling Creighton doesn t mean what it did in previous years The Bluejays are - with blowout losses to Gonzaga Nebraska and Iowa State Even so it s better than the alternative for the meandering Wildcats Previous Utah - Impact lost to Mississippi State - NET ranking Comment What a week in Salt Lake City with Kyle Whittingham announcing he s stepping down after the Las Vegas Bowl and the Utes signing a private equity deal The ghastly loss to Mississippi State was easy to miss Previous Cincinnati - Effect lost to Georgia - NET ranking Comment The race to the bottom of the Big is officially underway From the looks of it the Bearcats will have competition particularly from their friends at Utah Previous Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - - Follow me on the social media platform X WilnerHotline