There are four games left in the Big 12 men’s basketball regular season and there is little standing in the way of Houston winning the regular-season crown.
Perhaps Texas Tech, which will face Houston on Monday, might be the last possible impediment to a Cougar coronation. Odds are by the end of this weekend, Houston will have the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, which starts on March 11 in Kansas City.
Now that the weekend’s action is done, it’s time to recalibrate what the Big 12 Tournament seeds would look like if the event started today.
Related: Big 12 Men’s Basketball Power Rankings: One Team Rising Fast
Big 12 Basketball Tournament Seeds Going into Last Two Weeks
Updated: Feb 23, 2025
With only four games remaining in the regular season, the Big 12 men’s basketball standings are beginning to solidify—particularly at the top. Houston has become the prohibitive favorite to win the regular-season title, and this weekend they might clinch the No. 1 seed for the Big 12 Tournament, which opens on March 11 in Kansas City.
There’s plenty of action remaining, but assuming the tournament were to begin today, here’s how seeding would look according to current records and official Big 12 tiebreaker procedures.
Seeds 1–4: Double Byes
No. 1 Houston (15-1)
The Cougars have things all locked up. A victory Monday night over Texas Tech will secure at least a share of the regular-season title and the top tournament seed.
No. 2 Texas Tech (12-4)
The Red Raiders have the advantage over Arizona with their head-to-head victory against Houston.
No. 3 Arizona (12-4)
The Wildcats are tied with Tech but drop to third because of the tiebreaker.
No. 4 Iowa State (11-5)
Still clinging to the ropes, but they must continue winning to maintain that last double-bye position.
Seeds 5–8: Single Byes
No. 5 BYU (10-6)
The Cougars are the group to watch out for. They are just one game behind Iowa State and will have an opportunity to pass them next week in a pivotal matchup.
No. 6 Kansas (9-7)
Kansas is on an uptick and finds itself comfortably placed for an first-round bye.
No. 7 TCU (8-8)
The Horned Frogs claim the advantage over Baylor due to their previous win.
No. 8 Baylor (8-8)
Still in solid form for a bye, but much will depend on how they finish the stretch.
Seeds 9–16: First-Round Matchups
No. 9 West Virginia (7-9)
No. 10 Utah (7-9)
No. 11 Kansas State (7-9)
These three are tied up in a round-robin situation. According to Big 12 and ESPN’s current standings, WVU gets the ninth seed, then Utah and Kansas State.
No. 12 Cincinnati (6-10)
Still struggling, but the window is running out quickly for movement up.
No. 13 Oklahoma State (5-11)
Takes the nod over UCF due to a head-to-head victory.
No. 14 UCF (5-11)
Simply can’t seem to get on track this year.
No. 15 Arizona State (4-12)
No. 16 Colorado (2-14)
Locked into the cellar of the bracket, and short of a miracle, they’ll be remaining there.
As a reminder, we used the Big 12 rules on the web site for tiebreakers.
If the Big 12 men’s tournament started today, here is how the tournament would be seeded.
Seeds Nos. 1-4: Double Byes
No. 1 Houston (15-1)
No. 2 Texas Tech (12-4)
No. 3 Arizona (12-4)
No. 4 Iowa State (11-5)
So how do we break the tie between Texas Tech and Arizona? Well, the two split the season series. So, the next tiebreaker is record against the top team in the standings. For now, Tech gets the nod as the only team to beat Houston in the Big 12.
Monday’s game between Houston and Tech obviously has huge ramifications. If Houston wins, the Cougars clinch a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed. Why? With three games left, the worst they could finish would be 16-4. Houston owns the tiebreaker with Arizona, and at that point, the Wildcats would be the only team able to catch the Cougars. Houston would also clinch a double bye as a result.
The other double byes are still up for grabs. Teams with double byes don’t play until the quarterfinals.
Seeds Nos. 5-8: Single Byes
No. 5 BYU (10-6)
No. 6 Kansas (9-7)
No. 7 TCU (8-8)
No. 8 Baylor (8-8)
BYU is the one team with a realistic chance of crashing the top four seeds. The Cougars are only one game back of the Cyclones with four games left. BYU will get its shot at ISU next week. That game could mean something.
This week the single byes are far easier. Kansas is at No. 6. TCU gets No. 7 because of its earlier win over Baylor, though the Horned Frogs and Bears will meet again.
First Round (Seeds 9-16)
No. 9 West Virginia (7-9)
No. 10 Utah (7-9)
No. 11 Kansas State (7-9)
No. 12 Cincinnati (6-10)
No. 13 Oklahoma State (5-11)
No. 14 UCF (5-11)
No. 15 Arizona State (4-12)
No. 16 Colorado (2-14)
So, K-State, Utah and WVU were tied the last time we did this. The round-robin tiebreaker hasn’t changed. So, what’s changed?
The standings above them. Houston is still first. But Texas Tech is now second. So how did each do against Tech? No change. They all lost to the Red Raiders. Arizona is in third. So that means the three teams remain in the same order as last week. Or does it?
ESPN’s standings have WVU in ninth, Utah in 10th and Kansas State in 11th. They tend to mirror the tiebreakers. The same goes for the official Big 12 standings. To validate that, look at TCU being ahead of Baylor in the standings, knowing that TCU has the tiebreaker in hand. It leads me to believe that I did something wrong with the tiebreakers in our last exercise. I tend to believe the standings are accurate, though I’m not sure why the tiebreakers aren’t yielding the result I think they should.
Any way you look at it, Utah plays Arizona next and that will settle the matter, assuming all three teams are still tied. It’s the risk one takes when trying to break ties when the picture isn’t fully painted.
As for OSU and UCF, that’s much easier. Oklahoma State beat UCF in their only meeting. If only the tiebreakers could be that easy.
You can find Matthew Postings on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
