Big Twelve Power Poll: A Big Gray Area

Conventional Wisdom coming out of the non-con was that the Big Twelve was a lot better than expected. Kansas, a top team in the country, Texas A&M not missing a beat with the transition to Mark Turgeon, Texas still strong, Baylor making a big resurgence, K-State has Michael Beasley. Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri all looking much improved. Even Colorado has made improvements with a new coach.

So, while the Big Twelve may be better than expected, it creates a big muddy picture of where teams are in the conference pecking order. The first weekend's conference games only provided a small glimpse. Mainly, that there's going to be a lot of bouncing around between spots 3 through 10.

1. Kansas -- Unbeaten with the most talent and depth in the conference.
2. Texas A&M -- Great start with a 4-1 record in the non-con against opponents from the other power conferences.
3. Baylor -- Solid in the non-con with a couple of very close losses to top-25 teams.
4. Texas -- A very torrid start that saw them knock off Tennessee and UCLA has seen them lose 3 of their last 5 including a conference opener on the road. Strange since they actually had depth added in January.
5. Missouri -- The win over Texas was great, but they were very shaky for most of the non-con against good competition. They'll be up and down the power rankings all season.
6. K-State -- Huge road win in Norman pushes them higher than a lackluster non-con performance. They may be able to beat anyone and lose to anyone in the conference. It all depends on Beasley and Walker.
7. Oklahoma -- Depth may be the big issue. They have some great young talent with Blake Griffin blended with upperclassmen. Just not a lot of bodies.
8. Oklahoma State -- Last year, they did not win one road game in the conference. This season, they have yet to win a road game period. Until they win a couple it will be hard to put them in the upper-half.
9. Nebraska -- They look a lot better, and even have a couple solid non-con wins. They also have barely left Lincoln, and lost the only two times they ventured away from home.
10. Texas Tech -- So Bobby Knight will win 900 games this season. At least they have that going for them.
11. Iowa State -- Geoff Greg McDermott is building something in Ames. They really gave Baylor a fight on the road.
12. Colorado -- The school might win at some point now that they have Jeff Bzdelik coaching. They won't win consistently, though, unless they actually commit resources to basketball.

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