Big 12 Basketball: A Conference of Contenders

The Big 12 Conference has undeniably established itself as the nation's premier basketball conference this season. Evidenced by the fact that the conference boasts six ranked teams in this week’s AP Poll, with three of the top five teams coming from the Big 12. On3’s James Fletcher's Bracketology predicts that seven Big 12 teams are currently in line to make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Top Teams in the Big 12

Arizona Wildcats

After an impressive start to the season with a 23-0 record, Arizona experienced a setback with consecutive losses to conference rivals No. 9 Kansas and No. 16 Texas Tech. However, the Wildcats demonstrated resilience, bouncing back with three consecutive wins, including victories over No. 23 BYU, No. 2 Houston, and Baylor. Tommy Lloyd’s program appears to be in a strong position to secure its first-ever Big 12 Regular Season Championship, along with earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Houston Cougars

Houston, once seemingly on track to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, faced an unexpected challenge, losing three consecutive games for the first time since the 2016-17 season. These losses, however, came against top-15 ranked conference opponents, including No. 6 Iowa State, No. 4 Arizona, and No. 14 Kansas. The Cougars have three opportunities to regain momentum before the Big 12 Tournament. Houston is quietly dominating teams. The Coogs crushed West Virginia and Arizona State before the first media timeout.

Iowa State Cyclones

For the second consecutive season, Iowa State has achieved a high ranking, reaching as high as No. 2 in the AP Poll. With three games remaining, the Cyclones hold the No. 4 spot in the poll and are projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Securing a No. 2 seed would mark the fourth in program history and the second under the guidance of TJ Otzelberger (2024). They have won eight of their last 10 games, with losses to TCU and No. 4. Iowa State took a big tumble this week, falling to number six after losing at Kansas and Cincinnati. In both games, Iowa State was the favorite, and they suffered setbacks.

Kansas Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks present a challenge to project as they head into NCAA Tournament play. Led by star freshman guard Darryn Peterson, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Kansas secured a significant win against No. 5 Houston with a score of 69-56. Prior to this win, however, the Jayhawks suffered a setback with an 84-68 home loss to Cincinnati on Saturday. Kansas had a strong bounceback taking down Iowa State and Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech faced a setback with a 72-67 loss to Arizona State on Feb. 17, during which star forward JT Toppin suffered a season-ending torn ACL. Despite Toppin's absence, the Red Raiders have secured two consecutive wins. They achieved a dominant 100-72 victory against interim coach-led Kansas State on Saturday and defeated Cincinnati 80-68 on Saturday. Texas Tech’s final three regular-season games are against NCAA Tournament caliber teams (No. 4 Iowa State, TCU, and No. 19 BYU), which means it could be in serious jeopardy of falling into.

Other Big 12 Teams

BYU Cougars

BYU experienced a shift in performance following its 86-83 loss to No. 1 Arizona on Jan. 26, after a dominant 17-2 start to the season. Since then, the Cougars have a 3-6 record. Their recent loss came against UCF, which remains on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, with a significant 97-84 defeat in Provo. At one point, UCF led the game 70-35 in the second half. With superstar freshman A.J.

Baylor Bears

Although Baylor holds a 14-14 (4-11) record with three regular-season games remaining, it is ranked No. 7 among Big 12 teams in ESPN’s BPI. The Bears are at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, and for just the second time since 2013 if they are unable to win the Big 12 Tournament. Scott Drew’s team entered Big 12 play with a 10-2 record but has since gone 4-11 in conference play. It also fell to No. 24 Louisville 82-71 on Feb. 8.

Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati has seemingly made a late push for the NCAA Tournament. Following the Bearcats’ 59-54 loss to West Virginia on Feb. 5, they fell to 11-12 (3-7) on the season. Since then, Wes Miller’s team has won four of its last five games. Two of these wins (UCF and No. 19 BYU).

West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia appeared to be on track to potentially making the NCAA Tournament under first-year head coach Ross Hodge prior to its three-game losing streak against Utah, TCU, and Oklahoma State. With games against No. 19 BYU, Kansas State, and UCF remaining on the schedule, the Mountaineers must win all three contests.

Read also: Conference Standings Breakdown

UCF Knights

UCF rounds out the top-10 of the Big 12. The Knights are fresh off a dominant 97-84 win over No. 19 BYU in Provo, which improved their record to 20-7 on the season. They are currently projected as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would mark their first appearance in the Big Dance since 2019 (lost to Zion Williamson and Duke in the Second Round).

TCU Horned Frogs

TCU Horned Frogs (18-10, 8-7)

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State Cowboys (17-11, 5-10)

Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State Wildcats (11-16, 2-12)

Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado Buffaloes (15-12, 5-9)

Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State Sun Devils (14-14, 5-10) Arizona took care of business against a rival in Arizona State, then picked up a tough road win at UCF.

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