Killer Frogs

Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Week 16 - BYU Enters Top Five

Looking at where each men's basketball team sits in the Big 12 Conference.

Barry Lewis

Feb 11, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Dallin Hall (30) drives past West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) during the second half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Feb 11, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Dallin Hall (30) drives past West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) during the second half at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images / Ben Queen-Imagn Images
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Disclaimer: The rankings below are for the games played through Sunday, February 16. Midweek games played since Sunday will be reflected on next week’s Power Rankings.

With just a couple of weeks left in the regular season, you'd think we wouldn't see that much movement week-over-week in our Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings. And for the most part, that's true this week. Ten of the teams remain in the same position they were in last week.

However, for the first time this season, we have a Top Five in our Power Rankings that does not include Kansas. Say hello to BYU who now holds the No. 5 spot, while the Jayhawks have drop down to No. 7.

Houston remains at the top spot, and Arizona is right behind them at No. 2. Iowa State flipped spots with Texas Tech to take the No. 3 spot. On the other end of the spectrum, Colorado remains at No. 16, a spot they have occupied all season long.

How Power Rankings Are Determined

We have brought together a group from across the league to vote on the Big 12 Power Rankings each week during the season.

  • Approximately 20 Total Participants
  • TCU Horned Frogs On SI Editorial Staff (9) - this represents about half of our staff
  • One to two fans from many of the Big 12 current schools (11); we are still searching for volunteers from the schools not represented to participate each week.

Each week, each participant provides their rankings 1-16. Those rankings are compiled, and the average rank is then listed below. For the most part, our voters are not considering this week's midweek games. However, some may have considered those games depending on when their votes were submitted.

Here's where our panel of voters ranked the teams this week:

2025 Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings – Week 16 (week of February 17)

Here are our Week 16 Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings, as voted on by our group of sports journalists and fans representing many of the 16 teams in the conference. What did this week tell us? It told us Houston is in the driver's seat and hopes to cross the finish line first, but a lot of teams are jockeying for position right behind them.

Week 16 Power Rankings Highlights

  • Houston remained at No. 1 for the fifth consecutive week.
  • No other team received first-place votes this week.
  • Colorado remained the No. 16 team in our Power Rankings.
  • Oklahoma State, TCU, and UCF also received last-place votes.
  • BYU jumped up the highest this week, moving up two spots. Other teams that moved up week-over-week include Iowa State (1) and Utah (1).
  • Kansas dropped further than any other team, moving down two spots this week. Cincinnati and Texas Tech each fell one spot.
  • Ten teams remained the same as last week: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, UCF, and West Virginia.
  • This week, six teams had six or more spots between their highest and lowest ranking: Cincinnati (6), Kansas State (6), TCU (10), UCF (8), Utah (7), and West Virginia (8).
  • Houston had the lowest fluctuation (0) between their highest and lowest rankings.

(Team records and AP Top 25 rank are as of 2/16/25; games since then were not considered when voters made their selection)

16. Colorado (10-15, 1-13)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 16
Highest Ranking: #11
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost at #17 Kansas 59-71; Beat UCF 76-63

15. Oklahoma State (12-13, 4-10)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 15
Highest Ranking: #13
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost at TCU 72-73; Lost to #12 Texas Tech 55-93

14. Arizona State (12-13, 3-11)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 14
Highest Ranking: #11
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Lost at #12 Texas Tech 106-111 in 2OT; lost to TCU 70-74

13. UCF (13-12, 4-10)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 13
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost to #10 Iowa State; Lost at Colorado 63-76

12. Cincinnati (15-10, 5-9)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 11
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #14
Last Week: Beat Utah 85-75; Lost at #10 Iowa State 70-81

11. Utah (14-11, 6-8)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 12
Highest Ranking: #7
Lowest Ranking: #14
Last Week: Lost at Cincinnati 75-85; Beat #17 Kansas 74-67

10. TCU (14-11, 7-7)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 10
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Beat Oklahoma State 73-72; Beat Arizona State 74-70

9. Kansas State (13-12, 7-7)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 9
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #12
Last Week: Beat #13 Arizona 73-70; Lost at BYU 65-80

8. West Virginia (15-10, 6-8)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 8
Highest Ranking: #3
Lowest Ranking: #11
Last Week: Lost to BYU 69-73; Lost at Baylor 71-74 in OT

7. #17 Kansas (17-8, 8-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 5
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Beat Colorado 71-59; Lost at Utah 67-74

6. Baylor (16-9, 8-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 6
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #8
Last Week: Lost at #6 Houston 65-76; Beat West Virginia 74-71 in OT

5. BYU (17-8, 8-6)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 7
Highest Ranking: #4
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Beat West Virginia 73-69; Beat Kansas State 80-65

4. #12 Texas Tech (20-5, 11-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 3
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Beat Arizona State 111-106 in 2OT; Beat Oklahoma State 93-55

3. #10 Iowa State (20-5, 10-4)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 4
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #4
Last Week: Beat UCF 77-65; Beat Cincinnati 81-70

2. #13 Arizona (17-8, 11-3)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 2
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #4
Last Week: Lost at Kansas State 70-73; Lost to #6 Houston 58-62

1. #6 Houston (21-4, 13-1)

Last Week's Power Ranking: 1
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #1
Last Week: Beat Baylor 76-65; Beat #13 Arizona 62-58

Note: Power Rankings are determined by a group of fans representing most schools in the Big 12 Conference.

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Barry Lewis
BARRY LEWIS

Barry is the managing editor/publisher of TCU Horned Frogs On SI and oversees a team of 15+ writers, photographers, and podcasters covering all 22 of TCU’s sports. He writes on football, basketball (men’s and women’s), baseball, men’s tennis, and other sports as needed. His weekly articles include Big 12 Power Rankings and Poll Watching during the football, basketball, and baseball seasons. He is a frequent guest on one of the many podcasts that TCU Horned Frogs On SI writers host covering football, baseball, basketball, and other sports. Barry is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He has represented TCU Horned Frogs On SI at the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, the 2023 College Football National Championship, the 2023 College World Series, the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis National Championship, Big 12 Football Media Days, and Big 12 Basketball Media Days. Barry has followed TCU sports since the Jim Wacker days. He is an avid sports fan and traveler, and he loves any opportunity to see a sporting event in person. He has been to 18 of the 30 MLB ballparks, experienced game day at 25 college football stadiums, seen 21 NFL stadiums, and been to 16 bowl games.

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