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

By Jason Kinander

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - DECEMBER 01: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates after making a three-pointer during the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Allen Fieldhouse on December 01, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - DECEMBER 01: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates after making a three-pointer during the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Allen Fieldhouse on December 01, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TX – DECEMBER 9: Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns reacts as the Texas Longhorns defeat the Purdue Boilermakers at the Frank Erwin Center on December 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX – DECEMBER 9: Elijah Mitrou-Long #55 of the Texas Longhorns reacts as the Texas Longhorns defeat the Purdue Boilermakers at the Frank Erwin Center on December 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

7. Texas Longhorns (7-3)

Previous Ranking: No. 5

Texas has had a solid December thus far but they don’t match up as well as the teams ahead of them. The month started off with an upset loss at home against VCU, head coach Shaka Smart’s former team, before an upset win over Purdue, and a blowout win over Grand Canyon. Texas wasn’t expecting to start out amazing given the level of the players that they lost after last season, so there isn’t too much to take away, as the Longhorns are starting off just how we expected them to.

Kerwin Roach has carried a fair amount of the load for Texas, averaging 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game. Roach has stepped up big in his senior season, and will look to continue his increased production as conference play starts. In last week’s upset win over Purdue, sophomore guard Matt Coleman came up huge, putting up a career-high 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Coleman is averaging 10 points per game in his second season in Austin and has stepped up in the absence of Andrew Jones since last season.

Texas will have a chance to pad their resume at home as they’ll host the Providence Friars (8-3). After that, Texas will host UT Arlington and has a solid chance to improve to 9-3 heading into their conference play opener against Kansas State on the road. The Longhorns are who we thought they were; a bubble team with little experience, but if those experienced players step up, they could be dangerous. They have fit that exact definition so far in 2018.

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