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Big 12 Power Rankings

Big 12 Power Rankings

USA TODAY Sports

1. Kansas:

The Jayhawks experienced their first conference loss of the season at the hands of the Cowboys, a game in which KU saw several longstanding streaks snapped. First their 7 game Big 12 winning streak ended, their 18 game winning streak is also over, and their 33 game home winning streak is no more. Senior guard Travis Releford (12.6 PPG-3.4 RPG) failed to register more than 10 points for the first time in over 17 games as well. Oklahoma State broke a few streaks of their own in Lawrence. Their 16 straight losses in AFH and 4 game losing streak on the road, that's right, we're the Pokes' first road win in the Big 12. Hopefully KU can keep their offensive streak of scoring more than 70 points, which now sits at 1 game, rolling on Wednesday in their first Big 12 meeting with TCU.

2. Kansas State:

The Wildcats edged out a close one at OU, completing the sweep of the Sooners. G Rodney McGruder (14.5 PPG-5.2 RPG) continues to be the only player on the K-State roster averaging more than 10 PPG and needs another player to contribute to the relatively weak K-State offense. K-State has been winning with defense recently, limiting Big 12 teams to just 60.5 PPG. K-State looks to get revenge against Iowa State in week 14.

3. Oklahoma State:

The Cowboys became the only team in the Big 12 to have a win over Kansas Saturday. Duo Guards Markel Brown (15.5 PPG-4.4 RPG) and Marcus Smart (14.2 PPG-4.6 APG) simply played out of their minds against Kansas, both combined for 53 points of the 85 points scored by the Cowboys. OSU didn't shoot well from three as a team, 8 for 24, but Brown was fire from beyond the arc, hitting 7 of 10 shots. OSU has firmly placed itself in the tournament with their win and look to take this momentum home against Baylor in week 14.

4. Iowa State:

The Cyclones have been one of the more inconsistent teams in the Big 12, getting win after loss after win and so on. The Cyclones are 12th in PPG, 15th in RPG and 14th in APG nationally and yet ISU finds themselves tied for 3rd place in the Big 12 along with 4 other teams. Fred Hoiberg looks to extend his 3 game winning streak over K-State to 4 and complete his 2nd straight sweep of the Wildcats, although his 2-6 true road record is a discouraging statistic for ISU heading to Manhattan Saturday.

5. Oklahoma:

The Sooners don't have any bad losses in the Big 12, but they also don't have a Top 25 win to prove their better than 5th best in the Big 12. Oklahoma has 3 losses, 2 against K-State and 1 against Kansas, and complete their series with the Jayhawks at home in week 14. This is definitely a Sooner program that is getting back on track.

6. Baylor:

The Bears have lost 2 straight, and we are now beginning to see this Baylor team isn't all that great. If we look back before the start of week 13, Baylor's only wins came against TCU (twice), Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, the Cowboys being the only decent win. Now that they have gotten their easy games out of the way, we will truly see if this Baylor team is for real, or just had a favorable start to the Big 12 season.

7. West Virginia:

The Mountaineers are having a really hard time adjusting to the Big 12 this year, and to a weakened Big 12 at that. Imagine how they'd be doing if they were still in the Big East? Yikes. The Mountaineers' only Big 12 wins came against the teams ranked below WVU, Texas, TTU and TCU. On a positive note for WVU, C Aaric Murray (10.1 PPG-6.5 RPG) has been on "fire" lately, averaging 13.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG in his last 3 games.

8. Texas:

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Ok, so maybe the Longhorns' fall from grace happened a long time ago, yet their state of disarray is still astonishing. Texas has been an embarrassment in the Big 12 and is way down from where they usually are nationally. Getting back G Myck Kabongo (9.6 PPG-5.2 APG) will add depth to the scoring it desperately needs, but it will probably be to late for him to make to big of an impact.

9. Texas Tech:

The Red Raiders are years away from replicating the success Texas Tech had when Bobby Knight briefly coached in Lubbock, heck, it will be years before they can even achieve a .500 winning percentage in the Big 12. Tech is currently tied for "5th" in the Big 12 with Texas with just 2 league wins. The Red Raiders host the Wildcats and travel to Baylor in week 14. Good luck.

10. TCU:

The Horned Frogs have proved, so far, that their intent was to become a competitive Big 12 football team, not a competitive Big 12 basketball team. The Horned Frogs struggled in their last few years in the MWC, so the poor record should surprise no one. TCU has yet to earn a win in 2013 and are looking like they won't get a win until 2014 at the earliest.