My brother-in-law and I were watching the Australian Open over the weekend and got into a discussion about The Big Four, a.k.a. what the media used to call Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray during their heyday. He was adamant that Murray didn’t belong — three Grand Slams compared to at least 20 apiece for the other three — but there was a time (circa 2010-16) when all four of them were discussed together.

Murray’s inclusion is kind of how I feel about the Big 12 in women’s basketball this season. Due to conference realignment, there are four power conferences: ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Big 12. While the first three leagues all have national title hopefuls, and multiple teams project as hosts in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Big 12 doesn’t seem to belong in the same conversation.

Other than Notre Dame’s baffling performances in the Cayman Islands against TCU and Utah, the Big 12 didn’t have many marquee victories in nonconference play. Iowa State and Baylor have disappointed relative to preseason expectations, though the Bears are on the upswing. Utah and Colorado lost their most productive seniors from last season and are still figuring out their way. Oklahoma and Texas are gone to the SEC.

The conference’s hopes rest on Kansas State and TCU, veteran teams that have combined to lose two games this season. And yet, despite the statistical superiority of their resumes — the Wildcats are second in the country in assists and first in opponent field goal percentage, while the Horned Frogs are second in made 3s and fifth in blocks — neither team rises to the level of championship contender, with blowout losses to Duke and South Carolina, respectively, sitting in the collective memory. Unfortunately, there is little that either Kansas State or TCU can do to dispel that perception until March because the Big 12 schedule doesn’t provide many opportunities for statement wins.

Maybe a preconceived bias is working against the Big 12, and the Wildcats finally have the poise to break through to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1983. The Horned Frogs have never gotten that far in their history, though all of their starters have done so at different programs.

Or maybe the Big 12 simply is the Andy Murray of the power conferences, and within a couple of years, we’ll start talking about the Big Three again.

Three rising teams

Texas needs offensive surge from Rori Harmon

Longtime readers know that I am skeptical of Texas’ ceiling, but if the Longhorns are to make a Final Four run, it will be because Rori Harmon becomes a legitimate second offensive option behind Madison Booker. Laila Phelia can’t stay healthy, and Aaliyah Moore has regressed from her junior season, so it has to be Harmon, even if she is still only 13 months removed from an ACL tear.

Harmon’s calling card is defense, and that part of her game remains unimpeachable. She collects steals on 5 percent of opposing possessions while committing one foul per game. Texas’ defense improves by 8.2 points per 100 possessions when she is on the court. But her offense hasn’t yet returned to pre-injury form.

The Longhorns need consistent pressure with a sprinkle of midrange scoring from their point guard, especially since Harmon shoots 19 percent on 3-pointers. In Texas’ loss to South Carolina, Harmon had some nice finishes around the rim but took only four shots after the first quarter. That’s why it was heartening to see her take 15 field goals in the subsequent game against Auburn — her highest total of the season. Hunting her own shot didn’t come at the expense of her passing, as she still had a game-high six assists, and she has been effective at the basket. Harmon is making 65 percent of her shots in the restricted area this season, which is significantly better than her 54.2 percent mark in her last full season.

The Longhorns don’t have any bad losses yet, with their lone defeats on the road to South Carolina and Notre Dame, but also not many great wins. However, this week provides the opportunity for three excellent ones: against Maryland in the Coretta Scott King Classic, at home against Tennessee and at Ole Miss. If Harmon can produce effective offense against three top-25 defenses (per Her Hoop Stats), it might be time to reevaluate Texas’ upside.

TCU knows how to use HVL

When Hailey Van Lith transferred to TCU, the move made sense logically because the Horned Frogs had another point guard, Donovyn Hunter, who had just helped lead Oregon State to the Elite Eight. Much of Van Lith’s struggles at LSU stemmed from having to run the offense when she previously had thrived in more of an off-ball role at Louisville. For the first 11 games of the season at TCU, Van Lith started alongside Hunter or Una Jovanovic, another point guard.

Ever since, however, TCU has started three wings alongside Van Lith and Sedona Prince, once again making the fifth-year senior the nominal point guard. This time, Van Lith is excelling. She’s averaging 17.5 points and 5.5 assists over the last 10 games while making 35.1 percent of her 3s. The lineups are more suited to Van Lith’s skill set, as she gets to run more ball screens with Prince surrounded by three shooters. Madison Conner also shares some of the playmaking load, but simply put, Van Lith has gotten better at running an offense.

Her pro prospects are incumbent upon her learning to play point guard, so the long-term benefits of her move to Fort Worth are clear. In the short term, the Horned Frogs have more options if Van Lith has positional versatility. The Tigers couldn’t figure out how to optimize Van Lith in her one year in Baton Rouge, but TCU coach Mark Campbell has brought out the best in her.

Blue Devils rule at home

Duke is arguably the best team in the country … when it plays at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils have a net rating of plus-45.7 per 100 possessions at home, per CBB Analytics, and that was before a 25-point shellacking of Stanford on Sunday. For reference, that net rating places Duke in the 100th percentile.

The Blue Devils delivered a rude ACC welcome this week to both the Cardinal and California, one of the feel-good stories of the season. The Golden Bears came into Thursday’s matchup riding high after wins over Florida State and NC State and proceeded to turn over the ball 31 times in 40 minutes. Stanford was better with its ball control, committing only 20 giveaways, but the Cardinal weren’t very productive with their possessions. They average 21.6 3-point attempts and 16.2 free-throw attempts per game; against Duke, those totals were nine and 13, respectively.

Most teams are better at home, but the Blue Devils take that disparity to the extreme. They shoot 7.6 percent better from the floor, collect 6.9 more rebounds and block 1.6 more shots. The biggest difference is the bench production, as the reserves average 43.9 points in Durham compared to 25.6 away from home. That doesn’t exactly bode well for upcoming matchups at Georgia Tech, NC State and Notre Dame. Duke will have to eke out a win in at least one of those road environments to feel better about its chances on a neutral court in March.

Two falling teams

Ohio State’s depth issue revealed

The Buckeyes fell from the ranks of the unbeatens this week, losing 62-59 at Penn State after Chance Gray missed a game-tying 3-point attempt with three seconds to play. (On a side note, what a week for the Nittany Lions to face two undefeated teams, UCLA and Ohio State, which followed a contest at one-loss USC.)

Penn State was winless in the Big Ten before defeating the Buckeyes, yet the Nittany Lions were still the sixth-strongest opponent on Ohio State’s schedule, per Her Hoop Stats. That lack of high-level competition is why the Buckeyes were the lowest-ranked team among the unbeaten. They remain above one-loss teams like Kentucky and TCU because this result came without star freshman Jaloni Cambridge, who sat out with an illness.

Ohio State, which scored only single digits in two quarters, could have used Cambridge’s scoring pop and drives to the basket. Cambridge also draws 4.1 fouls per contest, and those extra free throws were missing as Ohio State went to the foul line eight times.

Cambridge’s absence also highlighted the Buckeyes’ lack of depth. This is a team that runs a fast-paced system, and the press requires a great deal of effort. As a result, only Cotie McMahon averages more than 30 minutes per game, so the bench has to perform. Kennedy Cambridge, Ava Watson, Elsa Lemmilä and Eboni Walker combined for 5 points in Cambridge’s absence. The freshman isn’t injured, so she should return soon, but this performance revealed the precariousness of Ohio State’s success.

Utah out of rankings

The Utes dropped from the rankings altogether after consecutive losses to Baylor and TCU, with the Bears taking Utah’s spot in the “almost famous” section. The Utes have simply lost their flow. Over their last five games, their 2-point percentage is down (54.7 to 48.3), their 3-point percentage is down (36.5 to 32.2), and they cannot generate free throws or transition offense. Meanwhile, Utah’s opponents are moving the ball well, sporting a 1.34 assist-to-turnover ratio reminiscent of the Utes at their best with Alissa Pili.

The schedule is a big part of Utah’s struggles, as the Utes faced the Big 12’s top three teams during this stretch. That’s about to change, and in three weeks, Utah could easily be on a seven-game winning streak before facing Oklahoma State on Feb. 18. I wouldn’t bank on that level of consistency, however, unless Utah’s offense takes a major turn.

Games to watch

Texas vs. Maryland, 5:30 p.m. Monday, FOX

LSU at South Carolina, 8 p.m. Thursday, ESPN

Baylor at TCU, 3 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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