The worst kept secret in college basketball in recent years is that pretty much everyone in the sport considers the Big 12 to be the toughest conference there is. Whether in the power rankings of the major media (like this from CBS Sports or this by ESPN) or among the top college basketball metrics like NET or RPIit is clear that other basketball conferences simply cannot quite keep up.
With two of the last four national championship titles and the second-most Final Four appearances in the last five NCAA tournaments, the Big 12 has the success to back up that kind of claim. But they are in a position to reinforce their position as the premier league for college basketball in the ever-changing landscape of college sports.
On Friday news from UConn possibly accession the Big 12 – with most of its sports, including basketball, joining once the conference can negotiate an exit from the Big East or the 27-month wait to leave the league after its official letter of intent ends. Football, meanwhile, would join in 2031 to allow time for talent to improve and NIL funding for the sport.
These talks are preliminary, and it’s likely that such a move would face a lot of internal opposition from league members. But keep in mind that the Big 10 and SEC are positioning themselves to consolidate their power and dominate the college sports football landscape. As such, there will likely need to be a home for the best that don’t make it into the football power leagues. And given the continued popularity of March Madness and college basketball as a whole, capitalizing on being the best basketball league in college sports could be a strategically smart move.
It’s clear that the league already has the foundation to be considered the best – now it’s about making the right moves to cement their position on the floor so rival leagues like the SEC and Big 10 can’t even come close to edging them out.
Of course, the Big 12 is losing two teams to the SEC: Oklahoma and Texas, which are traditionally football powers but have always had the tools to be successful in basketball. But the teams that have shone the brightest in recent years and will continue to do so – Houston, Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State – will stay.
Also joining this year is Arizona – a traditional basketball power that has been pretty competitive lately. One of the other three new additions this season, Colorado, was the third-ranked team in NET and RPI in the Pac-12 last year. BYU joined last season and had a pretty impressive year, and despite losing their head coach, they are among the top 20 Division 1 programs in terms of wins and boast a history of competitiveness. Cincinnati and Utah also appear on this list (as do the previously mentioned Kansas and Arizona teams), with West Virginia just behind at 21st in all-time win totals
UConn would be a great addition – they are two-consecutive national champions, which would mean that if they joined the conference, the Big 12 would have all the national champions since the beginning of the decade. They have won four national championships in the last 15 years, are tied for third most national championships ever, and have won the most national titles of any program since 2000. They are also among the 25 most successful programs of all time.
With the Big 10 having 18 teams and the SEC having 16, and programs like Florida State, Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame being likely contenders for future additions, I think it would be smart for the Big 12 to bet everything on a future superconference of 20 to 24 teams. With 24, the league could split into three geographic groups for scheduling reasons — perhaps not divisions in the traditional sense, but loose groupings that can be used to ensure that the travel requirements of a coast-to-coast conference aren’t too overwhelming, especially in a sport like basketball.
And the fact is that the current landscape of college sports is full of opportunities to round out this type of constellation in a way that would cement the Big 12’s dominance in college basketball for years to come.
With the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — plus BYU joining in 2023 — the foundation for a Western bracket is already in place. Washington State and Oregon State would be a perfect fit as two former power conference programs that currently have no home to fill two spots. Washington State is historically weak in basketball, but was the second-best team in NET and RPI in the Pac-12 last season and just made an NCAA Tournament appearance. Both programs offer moderately competitive football, and at Oregon State, baseball is often a major-league program as well.
But the real place to reinforce the league as a West Coast basketball power is San Diego State. The Aztecs are quite competitive on the floor – they’ve won 11 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments and reached the Sweet 16 four times in the last 15 years. They were the runner-up in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and have won 25-plus games in nine of the last 15 seasons. The school has harbored desires to join the power conference before, talking to the Big East and Pac-12 in the 2010s and 2020s.
In order to really strengthen the basketball talent, it would also make sense to make another attempt at Gonzaga. The league spoken with the Zags before that and . Gonzaga has been to the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998, and in that same span they have 14 Sweet 16, six Elite 8 and two Final Four appearances. During that time they have only had two seasons where they did not win more than 25 games. While some of the success may be due to playing in a mid-major league, it is clear that they have become a basketball power.
While Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Houston, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State already form a solid group in the Midwest, the eastern half of the conference still needs some improvement. If UConn joins, we’ll have four teams east of the Mississippi in sight – the Huskies would join WVU, UCF and Cincinnati.
If the ACC continues its decline and eventually implodes like the Pac-12 did, there will likely be a number of teams to consider. It’s a safe bet that WVU or Cincinnati will likely push for 1-2 teams to be old Big East regional rivals like Louisville (themselves with solid basketball history), Pitt or Virginia Tech. That still leaves a few spots open, though.
To really solidify basketball power, Duke would be worth considering. The Blue Devils are a school that likely won’t be included in the top football league due to their weaker history in the sport, but they are a blueblood on the floor – they would bring 17 Final Four appearances, five national championships, and the fifth most successful team of all time to the Big 12.
While Duke’s main rival and elite program North Carolina is rumored to be a Big 10/SEC destination, another traditional basketball powerhouse is Syracuse, which would be historic for both WVU and UConn (if they join). Syracuse is also among the most prestigious Division 1 programs of all time. And North Carolina State could provide competitiveness in both football and basketball. They’re coming off two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the 2024 Final Four.
Imagine a conference with Duke, UConn, Kansas, Houston, Arizona and Gonzaga battling for the conference title, with other historical and current winning teams like Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Louisville Syracuse and WVU also in the mix. In terms of basketball prowess, the conference would be nearly unbeatable — they could claim 12 of the 24 national championship titles since 2000, and that number rises to 13 if you include Louisville’s vacated 2013 title. Are these the steps the Big 12 should take to secure its place as a fixture in college sports in a new era? Many would say it is.
