Big 12 Women’s Basketball Power Rankings for Nov. 17, 2025

It’s week two of the college basketball season which means it’s time for our first Big 12 women’s basketball power rankings of the season.

As I wrote last week in my first men’s power rankings, I’ll go back and forth between the men and the women during non-conference. Once we get to January, I’ll do rankings for both on a weekly basis.

I’m ranking by tiers, as I did last year. For now, we’ll use four tiers. As the season goes on, those tiers may change based on the quality of the conference. It was a great week of Big 12 women’s basketball, with No. 17 TCU beating No. 10 NC State on the road and West Virginia beating No. 15 Duke at The Greenbrier under some of the most unusual circumstances you’ll ever see.

Let’s dig in after two weeks. The rankings are complicated by the fact that there are 10 undefeated teams going into the week.

Tier 1

1. TCU (4-0)

2. Baylor (4-0)

3. West Virginia (4-0)

4. Oklahoma State (5-0)

All four of these teams have played great basketball for two weeks. TCU, Baylor and West Virginia all have a ranked win. In fact, Baylor and WVU has the same one — Duke. TCU beat NC State, sending a statement that their retooled roster should be competitive with the best in the country.

Oklahoma State has taken a volume approach to non-conference, and coach Jacie Hoyt acknowledges the quality of opponent hasn’t been great. But, the Cowgirls have scored 100 points or more in four of their five games and are raining 3-pointers in a way that will make them hard to deal with in league play.

Tier 2

5. Iowa State (5-0)

6. Kansas (4-0)

7. Texas Tech (5-0)

8. Arizona State (4-0)

Iowa State could easily be on Tier 1. I even toyed with five teams on the first tier. For the sake of balance, I kept it to four tiers. But, Audi Crooks and Addy Brown are on a heater early. Kansas’ stout recruiting class has slid in nicely aside S’Mya Nichols and Elle Evans. Texas Tech has, once again, gotten off to a hot start in non-conference led by Bailey Maupin.

What was it Arizona State coach Molly Miller said at Big 12 media days? She wants playing her Sun Devils to be like a trip to the dentist? So far, so good. ASU gets extra credit for being the only team in the league with two road wins so far.

Tier 3

9. Arizona (3-0)

10. Colorado (2-1)

11. Utah (3-1)

12. BYU (4-0)

We start getting into teams that have lost at least one game, and you must assess the loss. Colorado and Utah both challenged themselves by playing a ranked team and lost. Colorado really pushed Louisville on the road. Utah dropped an 11-point loss to Washington.

Arizona and BYU are undefeated, but they’re split because I think the quality of Arizona’s game so far has been a bit better than BYU. But, both have an intriguing mix of players and I’m curious, especially with BYU, as to how it will all fit together by January.

Tier 4

13. Kansas State (3-2)

14. Houston (2-1)

15. UCF (1-1)

16. Cincinnati (1-3)

I’ll probably get some flak for having Kansas State this low, and I think the Wildcats can contend for a single bye in the Big 12 Tournament come March. But right now K-State has lost two straight games, both at home, to South Dakota and Texas A&M. The Wildcats aren’t losing to bad teams. But, in a two-week time frame, it drives them down the power rankings.

Cincinnati is without Dee Alexander for the first half of the season and the impact was immediate. The Bearcats are the only team in the league with a losing record, and their win is over NAIA Georgetown (Ky.).