Thursday means new power rankings from CNNSI and ESPN, and the start of conference play also means previews from all sorts of sites around the web. Let’s take a quick run through the new stuff…

Texas moved from 13th to 12th in this week’s Power Rankings at ESPN. Hubie Davis still has the Horns slotted in 5th (huh?), while Fran Fraschilla takes a break from his usual Big 12 love-fest to drop the Horns to 15th in his ballot. Other voters varied, with most putting the Horns between 10th and 13th.

CNNSI’s Luke Winn moved Texas from 16th to 13th this week in his rankings, but spent the comment section going on about how Georgetown commit Greg Monroe was recruited by various coaches. Hey Luke, thanks for reminding Texas fans about how we missed out on the guy. Really appreciate it.

Lunardi put out his newest Bracketology on Monday, but it’s worth a link today. Joe has Texas as a 2-seed still, but their stock is dropping. Looking around at the Big 12 teams in the mix, it’s refreshing to see that someone has noticed Texas A&M’s weak-ass non-conf schedule to date — Lunardi has them slotted as a 4-seed. Oklahoma (7-seed) and Baylor (12-seed) are on the rise, while Kansas continues its death grip on a 1-seed. As for disappointing K-State? One of the eight bubble teams headed towards the NIT, according to the Bracketologist.

March Madness All Season, the preeminent college hoops blog, comes through again with a solid big conference breakdown. They’ve got OU as a sleeper team, and I’m in complete agreement. Jeff Capel has the Sooners playing great basketball after falling on their face against SFA, and I like them to earn that 4th bye slot in the post-season tourney. Be sure to check out this link, as it is a great primer for all of the great hoops headed your way from the major conferences.

Rush the Court put out their own Big 12 breakdown, and it’s worth your time to check it out. They’ve got the conference with five NCAA bids, and I’m generally in agreement. I think that K-State has a very good chance to play their way in, as they get two games against both Colorado and Iowa State. One thing that jumps out from RTC’s handy table is just how ugly the bad losses are in this conference this year. Hell, if all of Oklahoma State’s poor games were put on the page, it might just break the internet’s tubes.

Don’t forget that Longhorn Sportsline with Rick Barnes airs live at 7 PM on the Longhorn Radio Network tonight from the Pluckers West Campus location. We’ll be grabbing a table around six, so swing by, say hey, and have a few drinks. If you’re elsewhere in Texas, check the affiliate list from TexasSports.com to see if it’s on in your area.

It’s going to be a busy night preparing for tomorrow’s trip to Missouri, but I’ll try to get the Tigers pregame and Big 12 preview ready to be auto-posted while I’m at the McJob tomorrow. Get excited, hoopheads. Conference play is here!