Oklahoma baseball couldn't be denied in farewell season | Big 12 power rankings
The final weekend of Big 12 regular-season play is coming up, but it'll be devoid of much suspense. All the participants for the 10-team conference tournament were decided last weekend.
That includes the team at the top. Oklahoma has clinched the Big 12 title, the Sooners' first regular-season conference baseball championship since 1995 when they were in the Big Eight. Picked in the preseason coaches' poll to tie for sixth, the Sooners instead showed everybody by sweeping six conference series.
Sweep No. 6 came last Friday and Saturday when OU won three home games against Baylor, claimed a share of the title and hoisted a trophy. It got better on Sunday, when the Oklahoma State-Texas Tech series finale was canceled. That made the Sooners the Big 12 champs outright.
The jostling for position behind Oklahoma can still go a lot of directions. Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Kansas are bunched within 2 1/2 games of one another going into the weekend, leaving myriad possibilities for seeds 2 through 6. The top two seeds receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament May 21-25 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Here are this week's Big 12 power rankings. Records are as of Monday. So are rankings in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 coaches poll.
1. Oklahoma (32-17, 21-6)
Last week: 1
What to know: Don't bank on a seventh Big 12 series sweep. No. 15 OU finishes at Cincinnati, the surprise team of the Big 12 and one of the hottest ballclubs down the stretch.
Related: Oklahoma baseball making tracks toward a title | Big 12 baseball power rankings
2. Oklahoma State (34-16, 17-9)
Last week: 2
What to know: Too bad No. 17 OSU's series finale Sunday against slumping Texas Tech was rained out. Before then, the Cowboys were mathematically still in the race for the conference title with a head-to-head tiebreaker over Oklahoma. Oh, well.
Related: Why Oklahoma State baseball slugger Nolan Schubart's bat is heating up at right time
3. Texas (32-20, 17-10)
Last week: 3
What to know: How's this for consistency: The Longhorns have won two out of three in eight of their nine conference series. No other Big 12 team has won more than six conference series.
Related: Series win over UCF helps Texas remain in tight race for Big 12 tournament's No. 2 seed
4. West Virginia (31-19, 17-10)
Last week: 4
What to know: Mountaineers coach Randy Mazey announced before the season he was stepping down when it ended. They celebrated Mazey on Sunday with a victory over Kansas State in his final home game.
5. Kansas State (29-21, 13-14)
Last week: 5
What to know: K-State, No. 36 in the RPI, had some momentum with recent series victories over Oklahoma State and Kansas. But after winning last weekend's opener at West Virginia, the Wildcats lost 13-0 and 12-5.
6. Kansas (29-18, 15-12)
Last week: 7
What to know: Kansas, with help, could still get the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament. The Jayhawks finish at Texas in perhaps the best series of the final weekend.
7. Cincinnati (30-21, 16-11)
Last week: 6
What to know: Don't be dismissive of Cincinnati at the Big 12 tournament. The Bearcats have won four conference series in a row and five of their past six.
8. Central Florida (31-17, 12-14)
Last week: 8
What to know: The Knights have lost three of their past four conference series after winning four of their first five. Barring a late run, they're probably going to miss NCAA regional action for the sixth tournament in a row.
9. TCU (30-17, 13-14)
Last week: 9
What to know: The Horned Frogs have gone from outside the cut line for the Big 12 tournament not long ago to a bubble team for the NCAA tournament with a No. 38 RPI and a No. 41 strength of schedule. They finish at home against West Virginia.
10. Texas Tech (30-22, 12-17)
Last week: 10
What to know: The Red Raiders are going to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015 unless they win the Big 12 tournament. Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have Texas Tech on an eight-game conference losing streak.
Related: Texas Tech baseball clinches Big 12 tournament bid with rainout at OSU
11. Baylor (21-29, 9-18)
Last week: 11
What to know: Texas Tech might have missed the Big 12 tournament if Baylor had had anything left. The Bears have lost 11 conference games in a row.
12. Houston (25-26, 7-19)
Last week: 13
What to know: Houston hung losses on Texas's Max Grubbs and Kansas's Reese Dutton, who have two of the Big 12's five lowest ERAs among qualified pitchers. Even so, the Cougars have lost 19 of their past 22 conference games.
13. Brigham Young (19-29, 6-21)
Last week: 12
What to know: Thank goodness for midweeks. The Cougars are 6-2 in their past eight non-conference games. But in conference? They've been swept four series in a row.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Oklahoma baseball couldn't be denied on way out | Big 12 power rankings
