Big 12 MBB power rankings: Schedule edge goes to Iowa State as five teams begin to separate

Welcome to the Hotline’s Big 12 men’s basketball power rankings, a weekly assessment of the conference using analytics and common sense, with a strand of pasta occasionally heaved at the wall when mayhem is rampant. The power rankings will be published each Tuesday through the end of the regular season. (Last week’s edition can be found here.)

They lead the Big 12 contingent in the AP poll, the efficiency metrics, the NET rankings and the NCAA Tournament projections. All the data indicate Arizona...