Big 12 Basketball power rankings: Baylor holds strong, Texas moves up

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 07: Guard Jared Butler #12 of the Baylor Bears handles the ball against guard Terrence Shannon #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first half of the college basketball game on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

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AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 12: Tyrese Haliburton #22 of the Iowa State Cyclones (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

8. Iowa State Cyclones

Record: 9-12, 2-6 Conference

While on the topic of disappointing, here we have the Iowa State Cyclones.

Don’t be fooled; this group was not expected to be nearly as good as last year, especially considering the departures of Mariol Shayok and Talen Horton-Tucker.

However, the Cyclones were expected to at least be a player in the Big 12 Conference, mostly due to the stardom of Tyrese Haliburton.

While Haliburton has been very good, growing his draft stock to near lottery range, the Cyclones have not been good. The supporting cast has struggled mightily at times, with the lack of depth showing far too often.

Solomon Young and Rasir Bolton have not provided the assistance to Haliburton that was expected, and as a result, it is looking more and more likely that the Cyclones will miss out on the tournament.

There is still time for them to make a run, and given the talent on this roster, it would not be surprising to see the Cyclones in the top-five of the rankings by the start of February. For now, that will have to wait after a sluggish and ice-cold January.

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