Big 12 Basketball: Preseason conference power rankings for 2023-24 season

9. BYU Cougars

Last season: 19-15, 7-9 in the WCC

The BYU Cougars are the second newly inaugurated team to the Big 12 to make the conference power rankings at No. 9. Head coach Mark Pope is coming off the first season where he didn’t win at least 20 games. The Cougars return eight players from last year’s squad while adding a freshman and Aly Khalifa (Charlotte) and Dawson Baker (UC Irvine) out of the transfer portal.

Fousseyni Traore and Spencer Johnson will look to make a splash once again while Khalifa and Baker will have room to fill the voids left by the departures of Rudi Williams and Gideon George. Traore was the Cougars’ best interior presence this past season with 12.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 1.5 apg on 60.7 percent shooting from the floor. Johnson was their best perimeter threat, shooting 46.1 percent from deep on 11.1 ppg, 3.6 rppg, 1.8 apg and 1.6 spg in 2022-23.

They’ll look to make their presence felt in a new conference with more talent on their side. Their ability to space the floor and shoot the 3-ball should give opposing teams fits this season in Big 12 action.

Khalifa is a versatile playmaking big man who put up 11.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 2.7 apg on 38.1 percent from deep and 51.1 percent shooting from the field. He’ll be an intriguing piece for BYU given his length at 6-foot-10. Baker was a second-team All-Big West performer this past season, posting 15.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 1.2 apg on 36.9 percent shooting from deep and 46.7 percent shooting from the floor.