NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, Kansas drops, Duke, UNC rises in latest top 25 power ranking

11. Texas Longhorns – 16-3 (5-2 Big 12)

The Longhorns had a pair of road matchups to deal with this week, starting with Iowa State. It looked like it would be a strong defensive battle at first but Texas’ defense let up a bit in the second half and the Cyclones took advantage, winning 78-67.

It was a balanced effort for Texas, with five guys scoring between 9-12 points. Christian Bishop led the team on offense off the bench with 12 points, while starting guards Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter combined for just 21 points on 7/20 shooting from the field.

The Longhorns’ next opponent was West Virginia, a reunion with starting forward Tre Mitchell, who was on the Texas roster a year ago before suddenly departing. In what was a close game through all 40 minutes, Mitchell was the second-best player for the Mountaineers, scoring 12 points and getting eight rebounds. But it was Carr that was the overall star of the game, bouncing back with 23 points on 8/14 shooting in the team’s 69-61 victory.

Texas has a home game against Oklahoma State coming up but the real showdown is on the weekend when they travel to play top-10 Tennessee on the road. With Kentucky down a bit, this becomes the marquee matchup of this year’s Big 12/SEC Challenge.