Big 12 Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2021-22 season
By Andrew Tineo
Big 12 Basketball was back at the top of college hoops, with Baylor cutting down the nets in 2021-2022. The conference as a whole had wide regular-season success, placing seven teams in the NCAA Tournament. However, the conference underperformed in March.
Only one team escaped the first weekend and finished well below .500 without Baylor’s national championship run. The conference produced three All-Americans, two first-team, alongside national freshman of the year and defensive player of the year.
The transfer portal has levitated the Big 12 as new teams have go-to scorers, that were not in the conference a year ago.
The extra year, COVID-19, and trajectory of other programs have really made this off-season an anomaly, and one that should not be expected to be this crowded within the transfer portal for a very long time.
The final records made should not be the accurate amount of games played for every team and is graded on a 31 game scale.
Here’s a look at a Way-Too-Early Power Rankings for the Big 12 in 2021-2022. (rosters as of 5/17/2021)
10. Iowa State Cyclones
Starting Lineup:
PG: Tyrese Hunter
SG: Caleb Grill
SF: Javan Johnson
PF: George Conditt IV
C: Robert Jones
A complete rebuild is happening in Ames, as the entire starting five is brand new. Conditt IV and Johnson return from last year’s roster, while transfers and a highly-touted freshman round out the first five.
Tyrese Hunter is the highest-ranked recruit in Iowa State history and brings extreme athleticism at just six foot one inches. His shooting, spot-up, and off the dribble needs to improve, alongside his strength and size are question marks. However, Hunter will immediately become an impact and ensures the future of Iowa State basketball to be bright.
Robert Jones comes from Denver, after tallying 9.1 points a game a year ago, alongside a career- 56% shooter from the field. Jones’ big body and experience should help him be inserted into the starting lineup relatively early on.
Other impact players, including Tre Jackson and Xavier Foster return as well. Although talent is on the roster, the cohesion is not quite. The roster was talented last year with Rasir Bolton heading to Gonzaga and Tyler Harris back to Memphis. However, Bolton was playing out of position, Harris is incredibly small, and the roster as a whole was never clicking.
There isn’t a high ceiling for the Cyclones. However, I expect Iowa State to be more competitive than a year ago.
Final Record: 11-20 (3-15)