The Big 12 is arguably the most unforgiving conference in the country, and no team knows that better than No. 11 Kansas. Riding a seven-game winning streak, the Jayhawks have surged up the conference standings at exactly the right time, but they aren’t alone.
Kansas Once Again Rising Ahead of Top Big 12 Showdown
Kansas isn’t the only team on the rise, but its current win streak is certainly turning heads. Even with just five points scored off the bench, the Jayhawks avoided an early scare from Utah on Saturday, pulling away in the second half to secure their seventh straight victory, 71-59.
Some wins come easily; others take a little more work. Houston’s latest fell into the latter category. The Cougars improved to 21-2 with a road win over BYU, becoming just the second team this season to escape the Marriott Center with a victory.
The only other team to accomplish that feat: top-ranked Arizona, unsurprisingly.
Speaking of the Wildcats, Arizona remains one of just two unbeaten teams left in all of Division I, alongside No. 23 Miami (OH). For Arizona, it’s cut and dry. The Wildcats show no signs of letting up, and their most recent 84-47 win over Oklahoma State was their largest margin of victory in conference play. It also marked the first time since Dec. 20 against San Diego State that Arizona held an opponent under 50 points.
The case for Iowa State is a bit more complicated. The No. 7 Cyclones narrowly avoided a third conference loss with a close call against Baylor. Excluding road losses to Kansas and Cincinnati, it was the first time since the Cy-Hawk Series on Dec. 11 that Iowa State failed to record a double-digit victory.
BYU, Texas Tech, Cincinnati Taking Hits Amid Conference Skid
Any other team in the country faced with BYU’s schedule would likely be sitting below .500. In the Big 12, that simply isn’t the case. The Cougars have dropped four straight — a one-score loss to top-ranked Arizona, a road defeat at Kansas, an upset loss in Stillwater, and most recently a double-digit loss to Houston on Saturday.
Here’s the kicker: three of those four opponents are currently ranked in the top 12. Arizona sits atop the AP Poll, Kansas is No. 11 and Houston checks in at No. 8. On paper, a four-game skid looks alarming. In context, it’s exactly what surviving the Big 12 often looks like.
It’s the opposite for Cincinnati, who are currently trending in the direction of Baylor, West Virginia and TCU. Not quite at the level of Utah or Kansas State, but a quick turnaround for any of those teams could put the Bearcats at the bottom of the standings.
The Bearcats have lost four conference games against unranked opponents so far this year: on the road against West Virginia, at Arizona State, at home against West Virginia, and most recently against TCU.
Against the Mountaineers, Cincinnati led by as many as 12, but things got out of hand in the second half. Following the game, Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller even addressed fans in the tunnel.
An emotional Wes Miller approaches fans postgame:
“You guys deserve to be frustrated. I understand the responsibilities of this job. It ain’t okay.”pic.twitter.com/0Ci3AEhgG1
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 6, 2026
That’s where the line is drawn. In this league, losses come with the territory. Losing winnable games is what separates surviving from slipping.
The Outlook
Kansas is trending in the right direction. A win against Arizona on Monday could spark serious Final Four conversations, even national championship possibilities.
A turnaround for BYU, if imminent, could strengthen the case for AJ Dybantsa’s draft stock over Darryn Peterson. On the flip side, Texas Tech has a chance to flip the script and improve its resume down the stretch.
Only time will tell.
© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
