Another week is in the books, and Arizona State continues to climb up the Big 12 leaderboard. They drew a tough weekend series against Kansas, one of the conference's best teams, and won the deciding Game 3 with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.
Where does that leave the Sun Devils in the Big 12 power rankings? Last week's batch had them sitting at four, two spots behind the Jayhawks, but let's dive into the newest conference hierarchy.
#1: Arizona Wildcats 18-5 (5-1)
The Wildcats continue their upward trend, sneaking into the Top 25 this week as the only ranked Big 12 team right now, sitting at No. 23. Since our last round of power rankings, which had Arizona in third place, they've scored wins against the two teams that were ahead of them.
Last Tuesday, they bested Kansas 5-0 in a solo tilt and then traded punches with West Virginia this weekend. The Wildcats took the first game after 16 innings, but were blown out 11-3 the following day. Yet they came roaring back to life Sunday for an 11-4 win and the series victory, which now has Arizona sitting all alone at the top of the Big 12 standings.
#2: West Virginia Mountaineers 19-3 (2-2)
If the Mountaineers had managed to win on Sunday and take the series against Arizona, there's a good chance they'd be the team sitting in the Top 25 right now. One has to imagine they're not far behind, though, as West Virginia remains a really tough team to beat.
Their resume is still hindered a bit by the canceled games against Oklahoma State from two weeks ago, so we don't know as much about the Mountaineers as the Wildcats. Still, West Virginia is playing lights out right now, and they've got very winnable Big 12 series in each of their next four weekends.
#3: Arizona State Sun Devils 16-8 (4-2)
The Sun Devils sullied some of their momentum after a road series win against TCU by blowing a Tuesday night game tilt against former conference foe USC, but they made up for it with the series win over Kansas. The Jayhawks are one of the best in the Big 12, just like TCU, and Arizona State emerged victorious.
That earns them the third spot here. The Sun Devils have drawn two really challenging series to start conference play, but they've won both of them. Next up, they've got five very winnable games, including a road series against lowly Utah, before they draw a weekend stretch against Arizona. The Sun Devils should be able to come into that Territorial Cup series with a full head of steam.
#4: Kansas Jayhawks 18-6 (3-3)
Kansas was making an early effort to cement themselves as the best of the Big 12, but they've stumbled of late. They got shutout by Arizona on Tuesday and dropped the series to Arizona State, dropping them down the standings.
The Jayhawks still rank 16th in OPS and 42nd in ERA, so nobody is breaking the glass right now. Kansas has simply drawn a tough break to start conference play, but they should be able to turn things around going forward.
#5: UCF Knights 17-6 (3-3)
One of the most electric offenses in the entire country powered a red hot start for the Knights, but this weekend brought a shocking tumble for UCF. Hosting the lowly Houston Cougars, UCF dropped the first game, bounced back with a blowout win, but then dropped Game 3.
It marked the Knights' first series loss of the year, and it came in surprising fashion. Houston hasn't exactly been that good to start the year, while UCF was looking like a sneaky pick to run the conference table. Now, they're left with plenty of questions.
#6: TCU Horned Frogs 17-7 (3-3)
Coming off their series loss against Arizona State to open up conference play, TCU did a solid job of righting the ship. They picked up an 8-5 win over ranked Dallas Baptist on Tuesday before taking the weekend series 2-1 against Texas Tech, though it took 11 innings to down the Red Raiders on Sunday.
The Horned Frogs remain one of the best teams in the Big 12, and their response to that series loss against the Sun Devils proved that fact. That said, they've got some catching up to do with others in the conference off to a faster start.
#7: Kansas State Wildcats 15-8 (5-1)
Good luck getting a pulse on this Wildcats squad. They were starting to look like a dominant team, blowing out Baylor in the first two games this weekend to earn the series win and push their win streak to six. Then, Baylor took the third game by a whopping 19-4 score.
That's a solid summary of Kansas State so far this year. They've won the games that matter, but their consistency (or lack thereof) hints at a relatively low ceiling with regards to the Wildcats' ability to seriously contend in the Big 12 this year.
#8: BYU Cougars 13-9 (3-3)
Picked to finish dead last in the conference prior to the start of the season, BYU finds themselves slowly creeping up the leaderboard week after week. Their conference-opening series was a loss to UCF, but both losses came within a run. This weekend, they handled Cincinnati for their first conference series win of the new year.
Nobody is going to confuse BYU for a Big 12 contender at this point, and they probably serve as the demarcation line in these power rankings between contenders and pretenders, but the Cougars keep showing that they've got some real grit to them.
#9: Baylor Bears 16-7 (2-4)
The Bears have had quite the fall from grace since Big 12 play began. They were one of the hottest teams in the country through the non-conference portion of their schedule, but they kicked off Big 12 play with a series loss to Kansas and followed it up with a series loss to Kansas State.
They'll take on red hot Arizona this upcoming weekend, and another series loss could essentially end Baylor's race for the conference title before we really get into the thick of things. Baylor needs to figure things out fast.
#10: Texas Tech Red Raiders 7-13 (4-2)
Will the real Red Raiders please stand up? Texas Tech was utterly abysmal to start the year, starting out 1-5 before course correcting only somewhat. Then conference play began and they swept Houston before forcing a rubber match against TCU this weekend, which the Horned Frogs ultimately won.
Going off conference record alone, Texas Tech is tied for third in the Big 12 right now, but their overall body of work suggests they're not that good. This weekend's trip to Manhattan to face off against Kansas State should answer a lot of questions about the Red Raiders.
#11: Oklahoma State Cowboys 11-10 (1-3)
After being picked to win the Big 12 before the start of the season, Oklahoma State is getting ready to enter April by just treading water. A week ago, they had three different games canceled due to weather, but the Cowboys have looked bad when they have played.
This weekend, they dropped their road series against Utah 2-1, losing both games by double digit runs. The Cowboys simply aren't playing well right now, and they haven't even run up against the cream of the Big 12 crop.
#12: Houston Cougars 13-10 (2-4)
Houston made a good case to move up ahead of Oklahoma State after this weekend, though I couldn't commit to the decision. The Cougars shocked everyone with a series win over the red hot Knights despite the series being played in Orlando.
It was a much-needed bounce back after getting demolished by Texas Tech the previous weekend, but Houston draws the trio of TCU, Baylor, and West Virginia the next three weekends. Maybe the Cougars have a few more tricks up their sleeve.
#13: Utah Utes 13-9 (2-4)
The Utes' 10-2 start to the season quickly gave way once Big 12 play started. They were swept by Kansas State and looked to be heading for a swift downward swing, but Utah notched a series win over the slumping Cowboys this weekend.
It probably says more about Oklahoma State than it does Utah, but the win still matters. The Utes aren't the worst in the Big 12, but their place near the bottom of the food chain is indisputable at this stage in the season.
#14: Cincinnati Bearcats 12-11 (1-5)
What a rough go it's been for the Bearcats. They came into conference play winners of six straight, but are 1-5 since then. They got swept by Arizona and eked out just one win in a series loss to BYU before their Sunday match against Butler was canceled.
Cincinnati was not expected to be a major contender this year, but their lifeless performance so far has been a bit surprising. They face No. 18 Louisville Tuesday night before a weekend series against UCF, so things could get even uglier for the Bearcats.