The Big 12 power rankings are published weekly by the Hotline throughout the regular season. They are the result of a deep dive into the analytics, an assessment of subjective factors and, when necessary, flips of the coin. No conference has more parity. The parity leads to chaos, and the chaos creates an endlessly compelling product that is not always easy to unscramble.

(Here are last week’s rankings.)

The Big 12 hasn’t hesitated to explore expansion options in the two years since securing its 16-team structure. It held talks with Gonzaga and Connecticut and even heard a pitch from Memphis and its $200 million buy-in offer.

Each time, the conference passed. While financial considerations were central to the decision, the competitive piece played a role, especially on the football side

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