Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Texas Tech beats out Kansas for No. 1

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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – JANUARY 09: Dedric Lawson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates after making a three-pointer during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse on January 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2. Kansas Jayhawks (14-2, 3-1 Conference Play)

Previous Ranking: No. 1

Kansas has played pretty well in their first four games of conference play, excluding an upset loss at the hands of Iowa State on the road last Saturday.

While that loss in Ames, a horrendous blowout effort, was disappointing, the Jayhawks have played right up to expectations other than that.

Kansas has knocked off two ranked teams, Oklahoma and TCU, and made easy work of Baylor up until the last four minutes.

The scoring for Kansas has been their strong suit. Dedric Lawson is playing at an all-American caliber, while freshmen Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes have played exceptionally well in their first couple of Big 12 games.

While Kansas has been winning on the court, off the court has been a different story. Star center Udoka Azubuike is now out for the season with a hand injury, a massive void on both defense and offense that the Jayhawks will need to fill.

Kansas did a good job of rebounding from the Azubuike loss, as in wake of the news, Bill Self decided to remove the redshirt from freshman Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji played very well in his first two games, making big plays against TCU, and dropping 10 points against Baylor.

LeGerald Vick has continued to shoot the lights out from deep, while other role players have stepped up in the absence of Azubuike. It won’t be easy for Kansas going forward, but Bill Self’s group has done a very good job in their first test of adversity this season.

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