The Big 12 Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament wrapped up on Saturday with a first-time champion crowned at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
With the tournament now complete, it’s on to the NCAA Tournament and March Madness. The Big 12 should have eight teams in the tournament once the 68-team bracket is unveiled.
Here are five thoughts on the overall tournament and what’s ahead for the Big 12.
A WORTHY CHAMPION
The Houston Cougars had unfinished business. That’s why I picked them to win the tournament in my prediction piece last Monday.
I mean, I didn’t get every game right. But I got the important one, right?
I remember how dejected Houston was after losing to Iowa State last year. Sure, coach Kelvin Sampson was philosophical about it. Plus, we really didn’t have a true understanding of just how banged up the Cougars were at that point.
Sampson said on Saturday that the “Big 12 champion had already been decided” based on the regular season, which Houston won at 19-1. I get what he was saying. But you can’t tell me he didn’t want this title, too?
It’s hard to win the regular season and postseason titles in the same year. It tells me that you’re a great team and, even after the first 20-game season in Big 12 history, you’re peaking at the right time.
The Cougars are peaking at the right time. Houston is not the only Big 12 team in the right frame of mind going into March Madness. But they’re the best. They’ve proven it. If you watched this tournament, you saw it.
The Cougars are the first first-time champion of the Big 12 Tournament since Texas in 2021. In fact, the Cougars are just the fourth current Big 12 team and the seventh team overall to win this tournament. It’s an exclusive club.
“At this moment, they are the king of the Big 12,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “So much respect for them.”
HAT’S OFF TO KANSAS CITY
The lead-up to the tournament here in Kansas City bring up the inevitable “Let’s move the tournament narrative.” There was less of it this time around. It’s almost as if last year’s new teams whispered to this year’s new teams, “It’s gonna be ok. You’re gonna love it.”
I think everyone did. Coaches with tenure and newbies alike shouted out KC, and for good reason. The folks here know what they’re doing.
Baylor’s Scott Drew is a one-man chamber of commerce (he was also born in KC, so he knows).
BYU’s Kevin Young, a first-year college coach, sung its praises, too.
I know other tournaments move their tournaments. That’s fine for them. But I don’t believe there is a city in the Big 12 footprint that would do a better job of supporting this tournament every year like Kansas City. Commissioner Brett Yormark believes so, too. He was sold after his first experience in 2022. That’s why the league is committed to KC through 2031.
Moving it outside the footprint is a ridiculous notion. Even Yormark, who has an affinity for New York City, understands that.
So, yes, it did snow during the women’s tournament. Yes, they did close Fan Fest a couple of days due to weather. Yes, the wind and the dust that rolled in from the west shut down the credit card machine at the Loews on Friday night when I just wanted one more New Midwest. Minor inconveniences.
This tournament has everything you need. It’s like I say every year at this time. Give it a shot. Come for the whole tournament. You’ll love it.
LET’S MIX IT UP
That said, I would like the league to consider one thing — trying to mix the men’s and women’s tournament together. I went through what I believe to be the most likely options in my Postscripts piece last Sunday.
I’ll even throw one more at you, one that the league brass might not like. When Colorado reached the quarterfinals as a No. 16 seed, many of us went into research moved and Nikki Edwards at CU Sports Nation found that there wasn’t a single No. 16 seed that had reached the quarterfinals of a conference tournament since the 1931 Southern Conference Tournament.
So, I went back and looked at that 1931 bracket (it’s out there). Turns out that was a 16-team, single elimination tournament. So, how about we eliminate the byes and just do this NCAA Tournament style:
Day 1: Men’s and women’s first round, four games each, split between T-Mobile and Municipal Auditorium.
Day 2: Men’s and women’s first round, four games each, split between T-Mobile and Municipal Auditorium.
Day 3: Men’s and women’s quarterfinals, two men’s and women’s games, all at T-Mobile.
Day 4: Men’s and women’s quarterfinals, two men’s and women’s games, all at T-Mobile.
Day 5: Men’s and women’s semifinals, two men’s and women’s games, all at T-Mobile.
Day 6: Men’s and women’s championship doubleheader, all at T-Mobile.
It’s a crisp six days. Start on Monday and end on Saturday. Yes, some teams get an extra day off for the semifinals. I could be convinced to do a Day 3 split and do all the quarters in one day.
This allows the league to end the regular season the Wednesday before the tournament, so every team has at least four days off. The better teams get an extra day and play on the second day.
Just consider it. It would give the Big 12 a chance to leverage all fan bases, men’s and women’s.
THE POSTSEASON
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd didn’t want to deal with hypotheticals of where he and his Wildcats will be seeded.
But I put together some thoughts together before the championship game.
Houston should be a No. 1 seed. Arizona should be no less than a No. 4 seed, and I think the way they ended the season allows them to be a No. 3 seed.
I think Houston, Texas Tech, Arizona and Iowa State all have legitimate shots to get to the Final Four. With the right draws, I could see Baylor, BYU and Kansas getting to the Sweet 16, too.
But Pete Mundo and I will dig into that when the bracket comes out.
No rest for the teams that are done, either. The portal isn’t even opening and players are declaring their next step.
CREDIT TO THE LONG-TIMERS
The legacy Big 8 teams were locked out of the semifinals for the first time since the Big 12 was founded and, quite possibly, in the history of the Big 8 Tournament, too. I think I saw that stat somewhere but can’t seem to track it down. As good as Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State have been over the years, I could believe it.
But you know what? Many of those Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State fans stuck around even after their teams were eliminated on Thursday. Why? Because they love basketball around here and it’s part of the reason why this tournament belongs here. The die-hards don’t go away when their teams are eliminated.
Now, they all didn’t stay and, yes, the crowds on Friday and Saturday were less than usual. I suspect those three schools failing to get to the semifinals won’t be the norm in the new Big 12, either. I feel this was probably a one-off.
But the Big 12 had nearly 14,000 come through the turnstiles on Saturday night. The tournament drew, even with both teams not being a part of the league up until two years ago.
Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas have some of the best programs in the country because their fan bases don’t throw in the towel after they’re eliminated. They stick around. They support good basketball. It’s another reason why the tournament belongs here.
2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship Schedule
(all times central)
First Round Results
Game 1: No. 13 Cincinnati 87, No. 12 Oklahoma State 66
Game 2: No. 16 Colorado 69, No. 9 TCU 67
Game 3: No. 10 Kansas State 71, No. 15 Arizona State 66
Game 4: No. 14 UCF 82, No. 11 Utah 70
Second Round Results
Game 5: No. 5 Iowa State 76, No. 13 Cincinnati 56
Game 6: No. 16 Colorado 67, No. 8 West Virginia 60
Game 7: No. 7 Baylor 70, No. 10 Kansas State 56
Game 8: No. 6 Kansas 98, No. 14 UCF 94 (OT)
Quarterfinal Results
Game 9: No. 4 BYU 96, No. 5 Iowa State 92
Game 10: No. 1 Houston 77, No. 16 Colorado 68
Game 11: No. 2 Texas Tech 76, No. 7 Baylor 74
Game 12: No. 3 Arizona 88, No. 6 Kansas 77
Semifinal Results
Game 13: No. 1 Houston 74, No. 4 BYU 54
Game 14: No. 3 Arizona 86, No. 2 Texas Tech 80
Championship Result
Game 15: No. 1 Houston 72, No. 3 Arizona 64
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
