Houston basketball has a loaded Big 12 schedule in 2024-25, thanks to more quality teams joining the conference.
The Big 12 conference schedule for the Houston Cougars came out a few weeks back and it offers a 20-game slate that starts on December 30th at Oklahoma State with a 7 pm tipoff. The Coogs play 10 home Big 12 games and an equal amount of road games.
That is followed up by the home opener at 1 pm vs BYU at Fertitta Center on January 4th and a matchup vs TCU at 8 pm on January 6th. That game will air on ESPN2. Houston opens the new year with back-to-back home games versus two teams they did not face at Fertitta Center last season. The Cougars narrowly lost to TCU 68-67 in Fort Worth and beat BYU 75-68 in Provost, Utah.
Next up is a road matchup at Kansas State for the first time as a Big 12 member on January 11th at 5 pm before returning home and facing West Virginia at 7 pm on January 15th. The Mountaineers were the first Big 12 win for the Cougars last season with a final of 89-55. Houston continues to alternate road and home matchups as they travel out to Florida and face former AAC rival UCF on January 18th at 11 am. UH returns back home to face a new foe in Utah on January 21st at 7 pm, who got added to the conference this season.
After that, the Cougars have back-to-back road games, first taking on the Kansas Jayhawks on January 25th at 5:30 pm on ESPN who they lost to last time at Allen Fieldhouse 78-65. It is followed by traveling to West Virginia for the first time in the Big 12 on January 29th at 6 pm.
Houston starts February on national TV (ESPN) at home with Texas Tech on the 1st at 5 pm and Oklahoma State on the 4th at 7 pm. UH travels to Colorado for the first time in the Big 12 on February 8th at 3 pm. A couple of days later, the Coogs host Baylor on February 10th at 8 pm for the first time since joining the Big 12. This game will air on ESPN.
The Cougars take a new trip to the Grand Canyon State to take on Arizona on February 15th at Tucson and then Arizona State in Tempe. Houston hosts Iowa State again at home on February 22nd, whom they beat 73-65 last season. To wrap up February, UH travels to Lubbock to take on the Red Raiders again on February 24th. All these games will be on ESPN.
March begins with back-to-back home games, vs Cincinnati on the 1st on CBS followed by the last home game of the season, another big-time matchup vs Kansas on March 3rd. This game will also be on ESPN. UH beat the Jayhawks in the final game of the season last year 76-46 to win their inaugural Big 12 regular season championship. The season ends March 8th vs Baylor in Waco, which is another matchup Houston basketball won last year 82-76. The Cougars end the year with eight straight national TV games and 16 total during the season.
Overall, it is a tough Big 12 schedule, but it is as expected playing in the best basketball conference in the country. Some new road matchups at Colorado and at Arizona State promise to be interesting, but at Arizona is definitely one of the highlight away games of the season. Houston gets to host TCU, Baylor, and Cincinnati, and Utah for the first time in the Big 12 this season as well.
This is now consecutive seasons that UH’s regular season home finale is Kansas. That promises to be another great game as well. The Cougars have another strong chance to win the Big 12 regular season crown, and it will be interesting to see how they respond this year after relying heavily on their leader Jamal Shead in the inaugural Big 12 season.
I predict Houston basketball will finish their Big 12 slate with a 15-5 record.
