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Big 12 College Basketball Power Rankings: Week 9

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By @NickCWilder

Big 12 College Basketball Power Rankings

Big 12 Basketball
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Conference play began for eight of the 10 Big 12 teams in Week 8, and there’s been a shake-up across the board for this week’s power rankings. The top team in last week’s rankings, Iowa State, went down in Week 8, and there’s a new No. 1 team as we head into Week 9 of the college basketball season.

10. Kansas St. (7-7, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 10]

Kansas State Basketball
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

10. Kansas St. (7-7, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 10]

Kansas State Basketball
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Wildcats have now lost three games in a row and dropped their conference opener to Oklahoma State last week. This team ranks last in the conference in both scoring offense and field goal percentage defense. Kansas State will look to turn its fortunes around in games against TCU and Oklahoma this week.

9. Texas Tech (10-4, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 9]

Texas Tech Basketball
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

9. Texas Tech (10-4, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 9]

Texas Tech Basketball
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Losing its conference opener to a solid Texas team is nothing to be ashamed about, but things don’t get any easier for Texas Tech in Week 9. It’ll face West Virginia at home and then Kansas on the road. The Red Raiders must improve their three-point field goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio if they want to move up these rankings.

8. TCU (13-1, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 7]

TCU Basketball
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

8. TCU (13-1, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 7]

TCU Basketball
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

The Cinderella team of the Big 12 to start the season finally lost their first game of the year, which was to West Virginia on Jan. 3. The Horned Frogs kept the contest close throughout, however, and should be able to get their first conference win of the year in Week 9 against Kansas State.

7. Baylor (11-2, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 5]

Baylor Basketball
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

7. Baylor (11-2, 0-1) [Previous Rank: 5]

Baylor Basketball
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears move down a couple spots after losing their conference opener to Oklahoma in Week 9. Baylor’s defense has been solid this season, but its offense continues to struggle, ranking eighth in the conference in both scoring offense and field goal percentage. It’ll continue Big 12 play this week when it takes on Kansas and TCU.

6. Oklahoma St. (11-2, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 8]

Oklahoma State Basketball
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

6. Oklahoma St. (11-2, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 8]

Oklahoma State Basketball
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

After squeaking out a win over Missouri in overtime, the Cowboys were able to defeat Kansas State in their conference opener last week. They have a very difficult schedule ahead, however, as they’ll battle Iowa State and Texas this week. It will be intriguing to see if Oklahoma State can hang with two of the top teams in the Big 12.

5. Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 6]

Oklahoma Basketball
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

5. Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 6]

Oklahoma Basketball
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

Despite its three losses overall, Oklahoma has played well this season. It has won six out of its last seven and beat Baylor at home to begin conference play. The Sooners rank second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense and third in field goal percentage defense. Rebounding continues to be an issue for this squad, though, as they rank last in the conference in rebounding margin.

4. Iowa State (10-2) [Previous Rank: 1]

Iowa State Basketball
Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports

4. Iowa State (10-2) [Previous Rank: 1]

Iowa State Basketball
Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports

Last week’s No. 1 team falls to the No. 4 spot due to their surprising loss to South Carolina in Week 8. Even though the Cyclones boast the best offense in the conference thus far, their scoring defense is last in the conference and they need to pick up their play on that end of the court. Iowa State will play two solid teams, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, coming up in Week 9.

3. West Virginia (13-1, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 4]

West Virginia Basketball
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

3. West Virginia (13-1, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 4]

West Virginia Basketball
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 14-ranked Mountaineers move up one spot this week after defeating previously undefeated TCU to open conference play. Their lone defeat remains a one-point loss to LSU back on Dec. 4. This team has found its stride since then, winning six in a row, and will battle Texas Tech and Iowa State in Week 9.

2. Kansas (11-2) [Previous Rank: 3]

Kansas Basketball
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

2. Kansas (11-2) [Previous Rank: 3]

Kansas Basketball
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 12-ranked Jayhawks move up one spot in these power rankings after beating UNLV at home in Week 8. They’ll begin conference play this week against No. 21 Baylor, before playing Texas Tech on Jan. 10. Kansas has worked through a difficult schedule to start the season and will be a team to be reckoned with all year.

1. Texas (12-2, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 2]

Texas Basketball
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

1. Texas (12-2, 1-0) [Previous Rank: 2]

Texas Basketball
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Texas is back on top of these power rankings after following up its devastating loss to Stanford on Dec. 23 by defeating Rice and Texas Tech last week. It’ll face a tough test against Oklahoma on Monday night at home, before taking on Oklahoma State on Jan. 10. The Longhorns' defense has been phenomenal, ranking first in the conference in field goal percentage defense and second in scoring defense.

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