Welcome to a new weekly feature on the Hotline. We’ll break down Big 12 basketball using key metrics (NET rankings, KenPom ratings, etc.), our observations and a dose of old-fashioned sarcasm (when needed) — all in the name of providing fans with the state-of-play in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.

(Results listed for games in the past week.)

Brigham Young matched Arizona basket-for-basket for 32 minutes Tuesday night in the biggest home game the Cougars have played since forever. But in the time it takes to blow a bubble, they collapsed.

A one-point deficit turned into a double-digit hole and, eventually, an 85-74 loss that could resonate for weeks to come.

To be clear: The outcome was more missed opportunity than self-inflicted wound. A victory would have greatly enhanced their NCAA Tournament resume. The less dependent the Cougars (15-7) become on the whims of the selection committee, the brighter their outlook.

They learned that lesson in football.

Yes, we’re taking the cross-sport plunge, an endeavor the Hotline typically avoids. But there are too many parallels in Provo to ignore.

For reasons that remain hidden, BYU’s football team never received the credit from the College Football Playoff selection committee it seemingly deserved based on schedule strength, Big 12 performance and, of course, the head-to-head victory over SMU.

Then again, the Cougars relinquished control of their postseason with the November loss to Kansas. Once in possession of BYU’s fate, the selection committee shrugged and tossed the Cougars aside.

That’s precisely the situation the basketball team must avoid. The Cougars must polish their resume to the point that the selection committee has no choice but to hand them one of the 37 at-large bids. Eliminate the uncertainty. End the debate on the court so it doesn’t extend to the committee’s conference room.

A victory over Arizona would have provided rocket fuel. Instead, the Cougars remain in at-large purgatory with rapidly diminishing opportunities to change their trajectory.

They host Kansas in two weeks, visit Arizona and welcome Iowa State to town in early March.

One marquee victory won’t secure a spot, not if the Cougars flounder unexpectedly.

But one marquee victory and the avoidance of bad losses seemingly would be enough — enough to get them off the bubble, enough to erase the doubt and enough to side-step the fate that befell BYU in a different sport two months ago.

To the power rankings (with last week’s here for reference) …

1. Houston (18-4/10-1 Big 12)

Results: won at West Virginia 63-49, lost to Texas Tech 82-81 (OT), beat Oklahoma State 72-63
Best win: at Kansas
Worst loss: vs. San Diego State
NET ranking: 3
Comment: We continue to wonder if the paucity of quality non-conference wins specifically — and the Cougars’ middlin’ non-conference schedule generally — might undermine their case when the selection committee seeds the NCAA Tournament field.

2. Arizona (16-6/10-1)

Results: won at Arizona State 81-72 and Brigham Young 85-74
Best win: vs. Iowa State
Worst loss: vs. Oklahoma
NET ranking: 9
Comment: The 16-point loss at Texas Tech a few weeks ago is not nearly the blemish it appeared at the time given the Red Raiders’ recent surge. And guess who visits Tucson this weekend for a mammoth game in the Big 12 race.

3. Texas Tech (18-4/9-2)

Results: beat TCU 71-57, won at Houston 82-81 (OT), beat Baylor 73-59
Best win: at Houston
Worst loss: vs. St. Joseph’s
NET ranking: 7
Comment: If Iowa State hadn’t converted a game-tying layup with one second remaining in Lubbock last month (leading to its overtime win), the Red Raiders would be tied with Houston and Arizona in the conference standings, with wins over both in their pocket.

4. Kansas (16-6/7-4)

Results: lost at Baylor 81-70, beat Iowa State 69-52
Best win: vs. Duke
Worst loss: at Creighton
NET ranking: 8
Comment: Without those November wins over Duke and Michigan State, the Jayhawks would have a fairly modest resume and the narrowest of paths to a No. 1 seed. Their results in 2025 have not been worthy of a top-line position.

5. Iowa State (17-5/7-4)

Results: lost to Kansas State 80-61 and at Kansas 69-52
Best win: at Texas Tech
Worst loss: vs. Kansas State
NET ranking: 11
Comment: If the loss to KSU was stunning and the margin downright shocking, the context was truly unprecedented: The Cyclones became the first top-five team in AP poll history to lose at home by at least 15 points to a sub-.500 opponent.

6. Baylor (14-8/6-5)

Results: beat Kansas 81-70, lost at Texas Tech 73-59
Best win: vs. St. John’s
Worst loss: vs. TCU
NET ranking: 28
Comment: It would be quite the twist if Baylor’s best result turns out to be a one-point victory over St. John’s and not a double-digit win over Kansas.

7. Brigham Young (15-7/6-5)

Results: won at UCF 81-75, lost to Arizona 85-74
Best win: vs. Baylor
Worst loss: at Utah
NET ranking: 34
Comment: When the Cougars needed a basket on Tuesday night, the set offense proved far too easy to contain. Where have you gone, Jaxson Robinson? Cougar Nation turns its frustrated eyes to you.

8. West Virginia (14-7/5-5)

Results: lost to Houston 63-49, won at Cincinnati 63-50
Best win: vs. Arizona
Worst loss: vs. Arizona State
NET ranking: 39
Comment: Hard to believe a team that has beaten Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State would be on the NCAA bubble, but the Mountaineers are rapidly headed in that direction.

9. UCF (13-8/4-6)

Results: lost to Brigham Young 81-75
Best win: at Texas Tech
Worst loss: vs. BYU
NET ranking: 63
Comment: We have reached the Big 12’s third tier, below both the NCAA Tournament locks and the bubble sitters, to the collection of teams that need sizzling finishes to secure spots in the at-large field.

10. TCU (11-10/4-6)

Results: lost at Texas Tech 71-57, beat Colorado 68-57
Best win: at Baylor
Worst loss: vs. Utah
NET ranking: 78
Comment: To continue the thought above: The Big 12 is tracking for eight NCAA bids, or 50 percent of the conference. Given the preseason hype, that outcome would be (as the kids say) very mid.

11. Kansas State (11-11/5-6)

Results: beat Oklahoma State 85-57, won at Iowa State 80-61 and Arizona State 71-70
Best win: at Iowa State
Worst loss: vs. Liberty
NET ranking: 79
Comment: So Jerome Tang didn’t forget how to coach, after all? Or maybe he has temporarily forgotten that he forgot how to coach? If the Wildcats beat Kansas this weekend, it’s probably the former.

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12. Arizona State (12-10/3-8)

Results: lost to Arizona 81-72 and Kansas State 71-70
Best win: vs. Saint Mary’s
Worst loss: vs. Kansas State
NET ranking: 61
Comment: Sure, freshman Jayden Quaintance missed two free throws with four seconds left that could have won or tied the KSU game. But the Sun Devils should never have been in that position at home against a team that was below them in the standings just a week ago — and is now staring down at ASU.

13. Utah (12-9/4-6)

Results: lost at Oklahoma State 81-72
Best win: at TCU
Worst loss: vs. Iowa
NET ranking: 82
Comment: We foresee three wins, at most, down the stretch — the schedule is quite rugged — and a poor finish certainly would call into question coach Craig Smith’s job security.

14. Cincinnati (12-9/2-8)

Results: lost to West Virginia 63-50
Best win: vs. Xavier
Worst loss: at Kansas State
NET ranking: 53
Comment: The Bearcats are 0-6 against Quadrant I opponents and 7-0 against Quadrant IV teams and thus meet the very definition of mediocrity in the world of NCAA metrics.

15. Oklahoma State (11-11/3-8)

Results: lost at Kansas State 85-57, beat Utah 81-72, lost at Houston 72-63
Best win: vs. Kansas State
Worst loss: vs. Nevada
NET ranking: 102
Comment: A resistible force meets a moveable object Sunday when Arizona State pays a visit to Stillwater. We expect a winner, but you never know.

16. Colorado (9-12/0-10)

Results: lost at TCU 68-57
Best win: vs. UConn
Worst loss: vs. Cincinnati
NET ranking: 105
Comment: With each passing week, the victory over Connecticut becomes more difficult for the human mind to comprehend.

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