Big 12 basketball power rankings: Does Arizona or Iowa State take top spot?

Iowa State has a knack for beating the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

North Carolina in 2022.

Houston in 2024.

Now, Purdue. And this time by 23 points. In West Lafayette, Indiana.

“More than anything, I thought they stole our spirit,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after the game.

The Cyclones now own the best win of the season by any team at any level.

An elite defense is the foundation. A dynamic offense is taking Iowa State to a new level. That was an issue for the Cyclones in the past.

Not anymore.

This is the deepest offensive team coach T.J. Otzelberger has formed.

But is that enough for the top spot in this week’s Big 12 power rankings? The Cyclones own the best win in the country. Arizona has arguably a better résumé.

There’s even a national runner-up in the conference mix as well.

Whew boy.

Let’s get to the rankings.

More: Iowa State basketball is a national title contender | Hines

1. Arizona

Last week: 1

This week: at Alabama (Saturday); vs. Abilene Christian (Tuesday); vs. San Diego State in Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Series Phoenix (Dec. 20); vs. Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 22)

What to know: The Wildcats have four wins over Top 25 teams. The latest was a 29-point rout of Auburn. And that’s enough to take the top spot in national polls and these rankings.

2. Iowa State

Last week: 3

This week: vs. Iowa (Thursday); vs. Eastern Illinois (Sunday); vs. Long Beach State (Dec. 21)

What to know: Tamin Lipsey returned from an injury and led the way in the rout of Purdue. He even dropped a phone-call celebration with former Cyclone Tyrese Haliburton courtside. If Lipsey keeps up that confidence and play, Iowa State will be even tougher.

3. Houston

Last week: 2

This week: vs. New Orleans (Saturday); vs. Arkansas in Never Forget Tribute Classic in Newark, N.J. (Dec. 20)

What to know: Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson recently got his 807th Division I win, passing legendary coach and friend Eddie Sutton for 15th all-time.

4. BYU

Last week: 4

This week: vs. UC Riverside (Saturday); vs. Pacific (Tuesday); vs. Abilene Christian (Dec. 19); vs. Eastern Washington (Dec. 22)

What to know: Freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa has lived up to the hype, even delivering a monster dunk in a wild win over Clemson. But it was Robert Wright III who stole the show, making the game-winning 3-pointer..

5. Kansas

Last week: 5

This week: at NC State (Saturday); vs. Towson (Tuesday); vs. Davidson (Dec. 22)

What to know: Speaking of freshmen phenoms, Darryn Peterson returned from a hamstring injury and immediately made Kansas look like a contender again. Sure, the Jayhawks were capable without him. But they don’t want to do that again.

More: Darryn Peterson returns for Kansas basketball as KU beats Missouri

6. Texas Tech

Last week: 6

This week: vs. Arkansas in Dallas (Saturday); vs. Northern Colorado (Tuesday); vs. Duke in SentinelOne Classic in New York City (Dec. 20)

What to know: The Red Raiders have struggled against ranked teams, but they have a chance to turn that around with Arkansas and Duke in two of the next three games.

7. Oklahoma State

Last week: 8

This week: vs. Oklahoma in Oklahoma City (Saturday); vs. Kansas City (Dec. 18); vs. Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 21)

What to know: One of the more underrated transfers in the offseason has to be Parsa Fallah. He’s dominated at Oklahoma State, shooting 68.5% overall (eighth-best nationally) while becoming a centerpiece of the Cowboys’ turnaround.

More: Oklahoma State basketball boosted by depth, clutch play during 8-0 start

8. Baylor

Last week: 7

This week: vs. Alcorn State (Dec. 19); vs. Southern (Dec. 21)

What to know: Cameron Carr is making a case for best scoring guard in the conference. He’s third in the Big 12 in scoring (21.4) and has not scored less than 13 points in a game, fittingly the Bears’ recent loss to Memphis.

9. UCF

Last week: 13

This week: vs. Mercer (Wednesday); vs. FGCU (Dec. 20); at Florida Atlantic (Dec. 23)

What to know: The Knights are off to the best start under coach Johnny Dawkins and have won seven straight for the first time since 2019. That season, they made the NCAA Tournament. That’s a good sign for this season.

10. TCU

Last week: 9

This week: vs. Incarnate Word (Monday); vs. Oral Roberts (Dec. 18); vs. Florida A&M (Dec. 21)

What to know: Just when the Horned Frogs looked to have saved their season, they blew a nine-point lead to Notre Dame. Those kinds of losses will hurt what appears to be a bubble team come March.

11. Colorado

Last week: 12

This week: vs. UTSA (Saturday); vs. Portland State (Wednesday); vs. Stanford in Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Series Phoenix

What to know: The Buffaloes stumbled against in-state rival Colorado State. But don’t overlook this fact: Colorado opened the season 8-0, its best start since the 1949-50 season. Seventy-six years!

More: Arizona State men’s basketball cruises past NAU for 8th win

12. Arizona State

Last week: 15

This week: vs. Santa Clara in Jack Jones Hoops Classic in Henderson, Nevada (Saturday); at UCLA (Wednesday); vs. Oregon State (Dec. 21)

What to know: The Sun Devils have been improving defensively. But if 7-foot freshman Massamba Diop continues to develop at a good pace, they could really make some noise.

13. West Virginia

Last week: 14

This week: vs. Ohio State in Cleveland Hoops Showdown in Cleveland, Ohio (Saturday); vs. Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 22)

What to know: The Mountaineers need Treysen Eaglestaff, a North Dakota transfer, to have more nights like he did against Little Rock (23 points, 5-10 from 3) if the Mountaineers are going to pick up some needed wins.

Last week: 11

This week: vs. Georgia in Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta (Saturday); vs. Alabama State (Wednesday); at Clemson (Dec. 21)

What to know: The Bearcats have lost 12 straight road games at cross-town rival Xavier. More importantly, there is no consistency, having rotated wins and losses for nearly three weeks.

15. Kansas State

Last week: 10

This week: at Creighton (Saturday); vs. South Dakota (Dec. 20)

What to know: Wildcats coach Jerome Tang has been frustrated about poor play and even officiating. But a four-game losing streak is over. The problem, though, is there are no more opponents as bad as Mississippi Valley State, the last-ranked team on KenPom.com.

16. Utah

Last week: 16

This week: vs. Mississippi State in Salt Lake Showcase in Salt Lake City (Saturday); vs. Eastern Washington (Dec. 20)

What to know: The Utes can put together a good night offensively. But they struggle to defend consistently and their rebounding ability is a mess. That doesn’t bode well with conference play looming.

Jacob Unruh is the deputy sports editor for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jacob? He can be reached at junruh@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support Jacob’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big 12 basketball power rankings: Arizona or Iowa State for No. 1?

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