The Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament tips off on Wednesday in Kansas City with eight of the league’s 16 teams in action in the first round.
The first round is reserved for those teams that are seeded Nos. 9-16, which means to win the Big 12 Tournament those teams will have to win five games in five days. That’s a tall order for any of these teams.
The winners move on to the second round on Thursday, with the Nos. 5-8 seeds opening their tournament after a first-round bye.
Here is a preview of each game.
Wednesday’s First Round
Game 1: No. 12 BYU vs. No. 13 UCF – 11 a.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: BYU, 13-16; UCF, 11-17.
Head-to-Head: BYU 73, UCF 66.
The preview: This is year two for both teams in the Big 12 and it feels like both took a step back relative to how each played in 2023-24. This game features two of the league’s top scorers in BYU’s Delaney Gibb and UCF’s Kaitlin Peterson. That alone is worth the price of admission. Whoever wins that battle wins the game.
Prediction: BYU 78, UCF 74
Game 2: No. 9 Colorado vs. No. 16 Houston – 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Colorado, 18-11; Houston, 5-24.
Head-to-Head: Colorado 83, Houston 60.
The preview: If Colorado has any NCAA Tournament aspirations, it needs to get as far in this tournament as it can. Winning just one game won’t cut it. Houston lost key players to injury even before the season started, but this feels like the swan song for Cougars coach Ronald Hughey, who hasn’t led the program to an NCAA Tournament in more than a decade in Houston.
Prediction: Colorado 81, Houston 63
Game 3: No. 10 Cincinnati vs. No. 15 Arizona State – 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Cincinnati, 15-13; Arizona State, 9-21.
Head-to-Head: Cincinnati 73, Arizona State 66
The preview: The Bearcats should expect some sort of non-NCAA Tournament invite after a solid season that saw them get over .500 after finishing last season 14-18. Forward Jillian Hayes has been terrific all season. Between Jalyn Brown and Tyi Skinner, the Sun Devils can absolutely make this a difficult game for Cincinnati.
Prediction: Cincinnati 67, Arizona State 55
Game 4: No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 14 Texas Tech – 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Kansas, 16-13; Texas Tech, 15-16.
Head-to-Head: Kansas 57, Texas Tech 50
The preview: It’s a match-up of two teams that had far higher expectations going into the season than each achieved. That said, Kansas is looking at a non-NCAA Tournament postseason berth and is fueled by one of the league’s best players in S’Mya Nichols. Texas Tech probably needs this win just to be considered for a WBIT or WNIT berth. The Lady Raiders are coming off an upset over Colorado to end the regular season.
Prediction: Kansas 69, Texas Tech 62
Thursday’s Second Round Schedule
Game 5: No. 5 K-State vs. BYU-UCF winner, 11 a.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 6 – No. 8 Arizona vs. Colorado-Houston winner, 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 7 – No. 7 Iowa State vs. Cincinnati-Arizona State winner, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 8 – No. 6 Utah vs. Kansas-Texas Tech winner, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
