College Basketball Power 10: Big 12 Continues To Dominate
By Jeremy Karll
1. Kansas (17-1)
Kansas tied Gonzaga for the longest active winning streak in men’s college basketball this season with their 76-72 win over Iowa State.
After losing their season opener to Indiana in overtime, the Jayhawks have rattled off 17 straight wins and are 17-1 on the year and 6-0 in a very tough Big 12 conference.
Kansas has avoided most of the elite teams in the Big 12 up to this point, but they beat Oklahoma by 11 and Iowa State by four this past week.
In fact, their win over Iowa State ended a two-year streak of Kansas losing in Ames, Iowa. It’s the first time since the 2013-14 season that Kansas has won at Iowa State. They did so in impressive fashion, too.
The Jayhawks only made two free-throws and turned the ball over 18 times. Out-rebounding Iowa State 41-24 and shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from three helps, but Kansas handily beating a good Cyclones’ team is a testament to their depth and leadership on the floor.
Despite winning 17 straight, not everything has gone right for Kansas this season. Their elite backcourt of Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham continues to show, however, why it is arguably the best guard tandem in the nation.
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The Big 12 is too good to go undefeated in this year, but Kansas looks as good as any team in the nation. The Jayhawks host the Texas Longhorns this week to try to extend their winning streak to 18 games.