The regular season is starting to wind down for the Big 12 and it’s looking like the No. 16 (national rankings, folks, that’s not their standing in the conference) Texas Tech Red Raiders are going to have a hard time getting to the top of the conference standings with such few games remaining.
Unless something changes in a hurry, it’s looking like the Arizona Wildcats are going to be able to pull away and win the conference this season. There’s an absolute logjam near the top of the conference standings, but Arizona has a decent advantage over Houston and Kansas, who are tied for second in the Big 12 at the moment.
Oh, and if you missed it, the Jayhawks just beat the Cougars to secure that tie for the No. 2 spot in the Big 12. Houston has now lost three games in a row and it feels like they’re losing some very real momentum as the regular season starts wrapping up.
Here’s what the Big 12 standings look like right now as Texas Tech prepares to face off against a Cincinnati Bearcats team that was able to beat the Kansas Jayhawks by 16 points.
Big 12 basketball standings update: Houston comes up short in matchup with Kansas Jayhawks on Monday
- Arizona Wildcats - 25-2 overall, 12-2 Big 12
- Houston Cougars - 23-5 overall, 11-4 Big 12
- Kansas Jayhawks - 21-7 overall, 11-4 Big 12
- Iowa State Cyclones - 23-4 overall, 10-4 Big 12
- Texas Tech Red Raiders - 20-7 overall, 10-4 Big 12
- BYU Cougars -20-7 overall, 8-6 Big 12
- UCF Knights - 19-7 overall, 8-6 Big 12
- TCU Horned Frogs - 17-10 overall, 7-7 Big 12
- West Virginia Mountaineers - 16-11 overall, 7-7 Big 12
- Cincinnati Bearcats - 15-12 overall, 7-7 Big 12
- Colorado Buffaloes - 15-12 overall, 5-9 Big 12
- Arizona State Sun Devils -14-13 overall, 5-9 Big 12
- Oklahoma State Cowboys - 16-11 overall, 4-10 Big 12
- Baylor Bears - 14-13 overall, 4-10 Big 12
- Kansas State Wildcats - 11-16 overall, 2-12 Big 12
- Utah Utes - 10-17 overall, 2-12 Big 12
In Texas Tech’s tie for the No. 5 spot in the Big 12, the Red Raiders really aren’t all that far from the top of the conference, but it’s hard to see a path for Texas Tech to surpass everyone in front of them with just a handful of games remaining.
That said, a win over Cincinnati still matters and is something that Texas Tech still needs to go out and get. It helps with seeding in the conference tournament and also the NCAA tournament. It helps keep up the momentum that the Red Raiders have from their dominant win over Kansas State and ahead of the upcoming game with Iowa State.