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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AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 18: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

5. Texas Longhorns

Record: 14-7, 4-4 Conference

One of the hardest teams to figure out in the country, the Texas Longhorns find themselves at number five in the rankings.

The Longhorns have a great deal of talent, but an inability to close out close games has been their downfall, as a close loss at home to LSU was the near breaking point.

However, the Longhorns followed that loss with a pair of close wins over TCU and Iowa State, building momentum for a huge game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Monday.

Junior center Jericho Sims has emerged as a star, as his offensive game has improved to the point where the Longhorns can run the offense through him. Courtney Ramey and Matt Coleman are getting hot at the right time, and it will be interesting to see if the Longhorns have what it takes to land on the bubble with a much-needed resume-building win over either Kansas or Baylor.

Texas continues to be a fixture on the bubble, but without a statement win, the Longhorns are still on the outside of the tournament conversation heading into February.

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