big 12 conference best college basketball teams

Houston is coming off a Final Four appearance in 2021 (a loss to Baylor in the national semifinals) and trip to the Elite Eight in 2022. I think if you took us out of it, and added certain teams, (the Big 12) would be the most competitive conference.” “The new schools certainly add competitive value. “We’ll have our struggles ahead of us, but we’ll survive and be fine,” Self said. With us, it’s everybody pitching in and doing their part.”įrom a competitive standpoint, Kansas coach Bill Self said the recent success and incoming schools position the Big 12 to offset the loss of Texas and Oklahoma. If you have one good dish and nothing else, it’s not a good meal. That’s the secret to the success of our league. “That’s what makes a great conference - it’s the top to bottom,” Drew said. The Big 12 became only the second conference to send different teams to three consecutive NCAA championship games, joining the Big Ten (Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin) from 1939-41. Five times during that span the league sent seven teams to the NCAA postseason. Since 2014, the Big 12, which presently has 10 members and will expand to 14 for at least two seasons, has qualified a minimum of six teams to every NCAA Tournament. “One thing in today’s society, change is inevitable, and you better embrace it,” Drew said.ĭrew said the Big 12 offers “top-to-bottom strength.” To be sure, KenPom adjusted its conference ratings to factor the Big 12’s loss of the University of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and the four newcomers, and the Big 12 still held the top spot, just ahead of the Big Ten and SEC. While football has been the driving force behind conference realignment, Big 12 men’s basketball stands to be a big winner with the addition of the University of Houston, BYU, Cincinnati and the University of Central Florida in 2023-24. 1 overall seed in the 2020 tournament that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Big 12 came within an overtime loss by Texas Tech in the 2019 national championship game of making it three straight titles, and Kansas was the No. The league is home to the past two national champions: Baylor (2021) and Kansas (2022). Number-crunching aside, the Big 12 has more indisputable evidence. “They’ve run the numbers, it’s still the toughest conference in the country,” Drew said at the Big 12’s meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., in early May.įact: KenPom, a trusted college basketball analytics website, has the Big 12 as the best conference entering the upcoming season.

Big 12 conference best college basketball teams