This weekend proved to be a pivotal one in the Big 12. Arizona State squandered an opportunity to catapult themselves to the top of the conference hierarchy, dropping a series against Arizona 2-1, and thereby keeping the conference race wide open. Let's dive into the power rankings.
#1: Arizona Wildcats 22-9 (8-4)
Last week's rank: 2nd
This week's record: 2-2
The Wildcats looked like they were about to slide down the rankings for a second straight week, losing to Grand Canyon on Tuesday night and coming in as underdogs against the ranked Sun Devils. But they handled Arizona State in the first two games to take the series before dropping Sunday's game. They're now in a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12 and looking like the team that was ranked not too long ago.
#2: West Virginia Mountaineers 27-4 (7-3)
Last week's rank: 1st
This week's record: 5-0
It's not fair to drop West Virginia from the top spot after doing nothing but winning, I admit, but the Mountaineers get leapfrogged here due to strength of schedule. They beat Ohio State and Pittsburgh earlier in the week before sweeping Utah, none of which are necessarily a murderer's row.
#3: Kansas Jayhawks 27-6 (9-3)
Last week's rank: 5th
This week's record: 4-0
Kansas seems to have rebounded from their brief skid last month, and they jump two spots here. They've won nine in a row, sweeping UCF this past weekend, and are now in first place in the Big 12. The schedule gets tougher from here, but for now the Jayhawks look really good.
#4: Arizona State Sun Devils 21-11 (8-4)
Last week's rank: 3rd
This week's record: 2-2
The Sun Devils started the week ranked for the first time in several years, and they obliterated Cal State Fullerton to avoid the post-rankings letdown. But it came all the same, as their electric offense was a no-show for two and a half games in a pivotal weekend series against Arizona. They could have moved into first place, but now Arizona State is in a four-way tie for third place.
#5: TCU Horned Frogs 25-8 (8-4)
Last week's rank: 6th
This week's record: 4-0
Much like Kansas, TCU is finding their rhythm again after some early struggles. A narrow win over UTSA was followed up with a sweep of BYU that featured a doubleheader. The Horned Frogs have won six straight and 11 of their last 13, coming on strong.
#6: Kansas State Wildcats 20-11 (8-4)
Last week's rank: 4th
This week's record: 1-3
Just when we were ready to believe in these Wildcats, they go and fall apart. Kansas State went a perfect 4-0 last week and had a winnable series against Oklahoma State, but they were promptly swept by the Cowboys. Worse, they lost the final two games of the series by seven and eight runs, respectively.
#7: Baylor Bears 21-10 (5-7)
Last week's rank: 7th
This week's record: 2-2
Baylor stays put in the rankings after a mixed bag of a week. They notched a win over HCU but fell 2-1 in their weekend series against Houston, though each game was super close. The Bears just as easily could've gone 4-0 or 0-4 this week, so 2-2 is a solid enough result, all things considered.
#8: Cincinnati Bearcats 19-12 (6-6)
Last week's rank: 11th
This week's record: 4-0
Nobody moved up more this week than Cincinnati, who suddenly looks like a dark-horse contender in the Big 12. After a really good week last week, the Bearcats had another strong stretch, beating Miami (OH) before taking the series against Texas Tech 2-1. They lost the second leg of a doubleheader, which snapped their seven game win streak, but Cincinnati is a team on the rise.
#9: BYU Cougars 15-14 (4-8)
Last week's rank: 9th
This week's record: 1-3
BYU started the week off on a high, beating the talented Oral Roberts on the road in a high scoring affair, but they ran into a buzzsaw named TCU. The Cougars got swept in Fort Worth, but they did take the third game into 11 innings.
#10: UCF Knights 18-13 (3-9)
Last week's rank: 8th
This week's record: 1-3
The freefall in Orlando continues. UCF snapped their five game losing streak with a win over Stetson, which was called after five innings due to inclement weather, but the Knights then got swept by Kansas. They have just two wins in the last three weeks, and the schedule isn't getting any easier.
#11: Oklahoma State Cowboys 15-14 (4-6)
Last week's rank: 12th
This week's record: 3-1
The Cowboys continued their run of bad baseball with a Tuesday loss to Missouri State, but then they shocked everyone with a weekend sweep of Kansas State. The sweep put Oklahoma State back above .500 and offered a glimpse of what this team was supposed to be, though it's unlikely that the Cowboys are going to turn this season around.
#12: Texas Tech Red Raiders 9-19 (5-7)
Last week's rank: 10th
This week's record: 1-3
It was a pretty awful week for the Red Raiders, nearly enough to drop them three spots instead of two. They got blown out by No. 10 Oklahoma on Tuesday - not a surprise - before getting taken 2-1 by Cincinnati over the weekend. The lone win came on the second leg of a doubleheader but this was another bad stretch of ball for the Red Raiders.
#13: Houston Cougars 18-13 (5-7)
Last week's rank: 13th
This week's record: 3-1
All in all, Houston had a good week. They started off with a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and went on to win the weekend series against Baylor. As mentioned above, Houston very nearly moved up ahead of Texas Tech, but the Cougars' overall body of work hasn't been good enough to warrant that just yet.
#14: Utah Utes 13-16 (2-10)
Last week's rank: 14th
This week's record: 0-3
Utah continues to hold up the rear of the Big 12. Their Tuesday game against Utah Tech was canceled, leaving the Utes to be swept by West Virginia over the weekend, the third game of which was decided by the run-rule. Utah has lost seven straight, and they look dead set on finishing last in the conference.