Big 12 Basketball: Big XII Preseason Team Power Rankings

Feb 14, 2015; Fort Worth, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs guard Kyan Anderson (5) and guard Trey Zeigler (32) and forward Brandon Parrish (11) celebrate the victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Wilkerson-Greines Athletic Center. TCU won 70-55. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

8. TCU Horned Frogs

I’ll tell you things get very sloppy here in this bottom three, but TCU gets the benefit of the doubt because I thought Trent Johnson led them to a huge step forward last year. I mean, they were ranked at one point! They really shouldn’t have been, since it was after going undefeated during a very, very bad non-conference slate, but I’m sure the folks down in Fort Worth will take it.

Kyan Anderson is a huge loss, and he’s been their main man on offense for awhile now. But they actually have some talent to put out there. Karviar Sheperd was once a top 100 recruit. Brandon Parrish isn’t too bad either. They lost Kenrich Williams for the year after knee surgery, and he was probably going to be their leading scorer. That put a huge dent in any hopes they had for the season.

TCU won’t finish last in the conference if…

Karviar Shepard and Chris Washburn can stay on the floor together. Neither of the two eclipsed the 24 minute per game mark last season, and that’s because they both struggle to defend without fouling. Washburn led the team in defensive rating, and wasn’t too bad on offense either, putting in 7 points and 5 rebounds in his 24 minutes.

I should also mention Chauncey Collins, a sophomore point guard who once put up 58 points in a high school game and went toe to toe with Emmanuel Mudiay, who’s know chilling on a stack of money in the NBA. If he can replace some of Anderson’s production, that makes things much easier for everyone else.

Next: 9. Texas Tech