THE TAKE
My take on the Big 12 this year: Best top 6 of any league in the country. All 6 could end up cracking the top 10 at some point in the season. Houston Texas Tech BYU Iowa State Kansas Arizona
BOLDNESS
50/100
GRADE
52/100
PLAYERS / TEAMS
HoustonTexas TechBYUIowa StateKansasArizona
GRADING CRITERIA
TRUE IF
all six named teams (Houston, Texas Tech, BYU, Iowa State, Kansas, Arizona) each appear in the AP Top 10 at least once during the 2025-26 college basketball season. Take is
FALSE IF
one or more of the six teams never cracks the top 10 at any point during the season. The secondary claim about the Big 12 having the 'best top 6' can be evaluated qualitatively by comparing the peak rankings of the top 6 teams from other major conferences (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big East) over the same period.
bold callvague
OUTCOME
CONFIRMED FALSEFive of the six named teams (Houston, Arizona, Iowa State, BYU, and eventually Texas Tech via preseason No. 10) clearly cracked the AP Top 10 at some point. Kansas, however, peaked at No. 11 all season and never broke into the top 10, bouncing between No. 17 and No. 25 for most of the year and even going unranked twice. The Big 12 was indeed a powerhouse conference with 5 teams in the final AP poll, but the all-six-crack-top-10 condition was not met.