Joe Lunardi released his latest bracketology update on Saturday morning, and there’s some real chaos building for the Big 12 conference.
Despite appearing to be in the midst of what some describe as a “down year,” the Big 12 Conference is still expected to place multiple National Championship contenders in the field. However, the drama comes when discussing the bubble.
Three teams from the league are currently listed on either side of the bubble, including BYU, UCF, and Arizona State. The Cougars would be the lone team of the trio to reach the tournament if it began today, while UCF and Arizona State would narrowly miss out, falling into the next four out category.
Through the first batch of conference games, BYU sits at 6-5, UCF at 4-7, and Arizona State at 3-8. UCF has the toughest matchup of the trio in their next outing, clashing with Baylor, while BYU and Arizona State take on Cincinnati and Oklahoma State, respectively.
In the update, the Big 12 was listed with eight total tournament teams, including Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, Arizona, Baylor, West Virginia, and BYU. Wes Miller and the Cincinnati Bearcats were also mentioned, though they check in slightly off the bubble as the field’s 81st-ranked team.
Each team will have several opportunities to improve their stock ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and with the Big 12 Conference widely regarded as the nation’s best basketball league, it wouldn’t shock many to see a double-digit number of league members slip into the tournament field.
