Big 12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings entering 2024-25 season
The Big 12 conference has been the juggernaut of the college basketball scene for the past decade. Widely regarded as the top conference in NCAA basketball, the newly expanded 16-team conference will, once again, present a grueling slate with its new members firmly in the mix; Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado.
With the 2024-25 college basketball season right around the corner, the Big 12 is in line for another prodigious season. Four of the top ten teams in the latest preseason top-25 power rankings hail from the Big 12. Seven Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 16 in EvanMiya’s recent preseason projections. Eight Big 12 teams are ranked in the Top-25 in KenPom's preseason projectoins.
As no stranger to the limelight of college hoops, here’s a look at the preseason rankings for the mighty Big 12.
16. Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado has been a staple of consistency under HC Tad Boyle. Despite this, things look weary in 2024-25 as Boyle is tasked with replacing last year’s core of KJ Simpson, Tristan Da Silva, Cody Williams, Eddie Lampkin and J’VonneHadley.
Returning less than 20% of its minutes, the Buffaloes will lean heavily on Washington State transfer Andrej Jakimovski while trusting the development of Julian Hammond in the backcourt. The Buffaloes will welcome a strong recruiting class, highlighted by four-star CG Andrew Crawford. Expect its core of freshmen to get reasonable playing with the lack of top-heavy talent on this roster. A rebuilding year lies ahead in Boulder as it adjusts to its new life in the Big 12.
15. Oklahoma State Cowboys
It’s a new era in Stillwater. Steve Lutz -- who has been to three NCAA Tournaments in three years as a head coach with Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and Western Kentucky -- enters the mix after seven up-and-down seasons under Mike Boynton.
The key for the 2024-25 Oklahoma State Cowboys, who return only 26% of its minutes from last year’s team, is its backcourt in Bryce Thompson and La Salle transfer Khalil Brantley. Both expect to be double-digit scorers in Steve Lutz’s fast-paced system.
According to BartTorvik’s preseason rankings, the Cowboys are the oldest team in the Big 12. Veteran leadership will keep the Cowboys competitive amongst the rigorous Big 12, but the question in Stillwater is if there is enough talent on the table that can result in wins.