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College Basketball Big 12 Rankings

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Doug Henderson | Last updated Dec 11, 2025 8:30 AM ET

If I were asked, on this day, to pick the conference of the National Championship winner in April, my pick would be the Big 12. And that is because this team boasts four teams that are legitimate threats to win it all, and I think that mathematically gives them the best chance to win it all over any other league.

After you get done here, check out our SEC Rankings and Big Ten Rankings!

NCAA Basketball: Big 12 Rankings

1. Iowa State

It would be hard not to rank TJ Otzelberger’s Cyclones first on this list after going 3-0 at the Players Era Festival (but somehow not getting to play for 1st or 3rd place, but that’s a story for another time) and then walloping Purdue 81-58 on their home floor. The Cyclones boast two of the top players on the floor every time they suit up with Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson.

2. Arizona

Photo Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Wildcats currently sit at #1 in the AP poll, but I’ve got them at #2 on this list. And that’s no slight to what Arizona has done – I’ve just been more impressed with Iowa State. The trajectory of the season for the Wildcats will come down to their freshman class of Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, and Ivan Kharchenkov. If these freshmen continue to improve, watch out…

3. Houston

Photo Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

If you haven’t watched this year’s Houston team yet, let me go ahead and spoil it for you: they’re exactly like every other Houston team under Kelvin Sampson, except they have a legitimate top-10 NBA draft pick playing point guard for them in Kingston Flemings. This dynamic makes them more likely to win a National title than they ever have been.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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