When the 2024-25 college basketball season started, Big 12 coaches were touting the conference as the deepest in the country.
And the AP Poll voters agreed. The Big 12 had five of the top 10 teams in the nation in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll — including Arizona at No. 10.
Then the season started and the SEC’s best teams — led by Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama — won head-to-head matchups against the Big 12’s top teams. Alabama beat Houston in overtime. Auburn beat Houston by five and Iowa State by two. Tennessee beat then-No. 13 Baylor by 15.
Arizona struggled mightily, starting the season 4-5 with losses to Wisconsin, Duke, West Virginia, Oklahoma and UCLA. The Wildcats dropped out of the AP Poll by Week 5.
Led by No. 1 Auburn, SEC teams have dominated the top 10 of the AP Top 25 Poll since late November. In the most recent poll, the SEC has five teams in the top 10.
Big 12 On Top In ‘Real’ Rankings
Unfortunately for the SEC, the AP Poll does not matter. And the top of the Big 12 has caught fire.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses the NCAA NET Rankings and other advanced analytics to choose the field of 68 for March Madness.
And the Big 12 is on top in the “real” rankings: Five of the top-12 teams in the NET are from the Big 12 and six of the top-14 teams in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) are from the Big 12.
The Big 12 teams in the top 14 of the BPI are No. 2 Houston, No. 6 Arizona, No. 7 Kansas. No. 8 Iowa State, No. 9 Texas Tech and No. 14 Baylor.
According to ESPN, “the BPI is a predictive rating system that’s designed to measure team strength and project performance going forward. In the simplest sense, BPI is a power rating that can be used to determine how much better one team is than another.”
That bodes well for Arizona (16-6, 10-1). The Wildcats are No. 6 in the BPI and currently projected to be a No. 3 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Saturday’s Texas Tech at Arizona game will have a big impact in the NET and BPI Rankings — and NCAA tournament seeding. The showdown between the Red Raiders and Wildcats will tip off at 8:30 p.m. MST on Saturday.
More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis
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