Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Kansas holds strong at the top

With non-conference play approaching an end, Kansas is clearly the top team in Big 12 Basketball. Where do things fall below the Jayhawks?

Heading into this week, many people were wondering if Kansas was really as good as their ranking and record had shown. While we’ll get to the Jayhawks here in a bit, its more and more clear that Kansas, at least for now, is the top team in the Big 12 basketball. However, there is a big clump of teams below the No. 1 ranking, a group that should clear itself out in a few weeks once conference play starts.

The Big 12 has always been a balanced conference. This season is no different. Behind the top team, there are about six or seven quality teams. This week, Kansas picked up a huge win over Villanova at home while West Virginia continued to slump against mid-major teams. This week gave us a lot to dissect in the Big 12, and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing.

While Kansas might be the clear No. 1, if there has been one thing that non-conference play has shown us, it is that Kansas seriously lacks any sort of experienced depth. Experience is huge in the Big 12, and Kansas’ lack of it might just be their downfall.

Conference play tips off in just two weeks, and behind Kansas, there is really no indication of where things will fall. Just about every team looks a lot different than last season, which is the recipe for a very interesting conference play season.

Now, let’s see where the ten Big 12 teams rank midway through December.