Big 12 basketball preview heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Big 12 was the premier conference in college basketball just a few years ago, with back-to-back national champions in 2021 and 2022 and a national champion runner-up in 2019. They’re still great, and while some of the newer additions like Houston, Arizona, and BYU have been great, others like Colorado, Utah, and Arizona State have brought them down.
Eight teams made the NCAA Tournament from the Big 12 last year, most notably Arizona, who made it all the way to the final four before losing to the eventual National Champions, Michigan. Iowa State and Houston were the only other two teams to make it to the second weekend, but didn’t last very long, losing in the Sweet 16.
While there are too many new players to count in this conference, there are a few new faces at head coach you might want to know. Starting with Arizona State, who finally bid adieu to Bobby Hurley and brought in longtime Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett. Wes Miller also ran out of chances, and Cincinnati moves on to Jared Calhoun from the winning machine Utah State.
The only other new coach is Casey Alexander from Belmont, who looks to drag Kansas State out of whatever the heck that was last year. That’s one of the many storylines, along with legendary coaches potentially doing their last dance, a loaded freshman class, and several teams capable of cutting down the nets in April.
Big 12 Basketball Projected Standings
1. Houston Cougars
For the first time since joining the Big 12, Houston didn’t win the conference. They finished all the way down at number two in the conference at 14-4, and won 30 games. Kelvin Sampson is the pinnacle of success, and he’s here to reclaim his throne. They return just one starter, but it’s one of the best defenders in college basketball.
Of the talented transfer class they bring in, Dedan Thomas from LSU stands out. We know that every year Sampson seems to have a superstar guard (Grimes, Sasser, Shead, Flemings, Cryer, Uzan), and Thomas will be the next one on the list. Pair him with Corey Hadnot from Purdue Fort Wayne, who averaged 20 a game, and Delrecco Gillespie, who grabbed the third most rebounds a game in college basketball, and you’ve got a two-way monster on your hands.
We know that Houston’s defense is going to be the best in the country, if not in the top three like every year. The biggest question is, can this be Kelvin Sampson’s final year? While he hasn’t indicated so, he’s 71, and with his son in the wings ready to take over, it’s certainly not unlikely.
2. Arizona Wildcats
Tommy Lloyd is one of the more underrated coaches in the country, and finally got the name recognition after a 36-3 three-season and a Final Four appearance. If they want to get back there, they’ll have to lean on Mo Krivas, the 7-2 senior who might be Tugler’s biggest competitor for best defender in college basketball. They also return Ivan Karchencov, who could have a monster year after a promising freshman season.
The name to watch is Caleb Holt, the McDonald’s All-American Game MVP and top five recruit in this class. We saw how important last year’s freshmen Brayden Burries and Koa Peat were, so they’re hoping that Holt can replicate that. Maybe Bronny James will have an impact. Even if he doesn’t, get ready for your social media feeds to be spammed with his every move on the court.
3. Kansas Jayhawks
Since the championship in 2022, the Jayhawks have not made a second weekend appearance. That’s pretty shocking to hear from a program that has been dominant since basketball was played in black and white. There were heavy rumors that last year was going to be the end of Bill Self’s Hall of Fame career, but coach Self has other plans, announcing he’s back for (at least) one more year.
If they want to break that tournament drought, they’ll need to rely on #1 recruit and probable #1 pick in the draft, Tyran Stokes. We can’t forget the drama that ensued with last year’s golden boy Darryn Peterson, so hopefully for Kansas fans Stokes’ tenure is a little more smooth sailing. They also get back two starters from last year thanks to the 5-in-5 in Melvin Council and Tre White.
The depth looks much improved from last year, and they obviously have one of, if not the best, home-court advantages in the sport thanks to the Allen Fieldhouse magic. If this is it for Bill Self’s career, hopefully it’s one where the team clicks, and they not only make the second weekend, but even further.
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders
If everything works out perfectly for Texas Tech, this team could easily win the Big 12. The talent on this team is insane, and obviously they have one of the best coaches in college basketball, Grant McCasland. They have a TON of question marks, though. Three of their current projected starters are 5-in-5 guys, including Derrion Williams, who was a key piece in that Elite 8 run two years ago, and Donovan Atwell, who shot 47(!)% from three last year on high volume.
If they can’t play, the depth obviously gets thin, especially at the big man spot, with JT Toppin still recovering from a torn ACL and his exact timeline not for certain. If they can play, this is a really dangerous team with very few flaws, especially with the mid-major guard additions of Cruz Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who both averaged 20 a game for their respective teams.
If you’re a Texas Tech fan, you better keep your eyes glued to the TV the next few weeks, because a few bangs of a gavel can determine whether Texas Tech is a championship contender or an early second weekend team.
5. Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State’s guards are comfortably the best in the Big 12. You start with Tamin Lipsey, who holds countless records for Iowa State and will most likely break even more if he’s eligible. Then there’s Killyan Toure, one of the best on-ball defenders in the country, who had a terrific freshman year. Then, they add Jaquan Johnson from Bradley, who averaged over 2.5 steals a game himself.
Now, Toure is out until likely January, so hopefully he doesn’t miss too much of conference play, and replacing Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson with Leon Bond and Tre Singleton isn’t ideal. But TJ Otzelberger has built a machine at Iowa State, and you best believe a little Hilton magic will have them competing with the best night in and night out.
6. BYU Cougars
BYU looked like a promising March team thanks to their trio of AJ Dybantsa, Rob Wright, and Richie Saunders, but when Richie Saunders was ruled out for the season, it all went downhill. They replaced their top-5 freshman recruit with another top-5 freshman recruit in Bruce Branch, who is obviously not going to have the level of production that Dybantsa had, but you don’t get that title for no reason. They replace Saunders with another knockdown three-point shooter in Collin Chandler.
They, of course, also bring back Rob Wright, who could score 23 a night with ease. The most important player of them all, though, could be Jaxon Kohler, the 5-in-5 transfer from Michigan State. He adds a whole new dimension to this team defensively, and if he’s ineligible, the big man position becomes a bit of a head-scratcher. BYU falls a tier outside the top five, but is still a top 25 level roster.
7. TCU Horned Frogs
After a 16-16 season, Jamie Dixon proved that was a fluke, winning 23 games and winning their Round of 64 game. They return three starters from that team, including Xavier Edmonds, who finished the season strong after coming in as the #1 JUCO recruit. Micah Robinson is another player who could have a huge year.
Keep an eye on Gavin Sykes, though. He scored 35 points in a secret scrimmage against SMU, and while you have to take those games with a grain of salt, he averaged 19 a game last year at Long Beach State as a freshman, so he clearly knows a thing or two about scoring. He’ll be fighting for minutes this year with Trent Lincoln, who is this year’s #1 JUCO recruit looking to have a similar impact as Edmonds.
With Dixon, we know the floor will be high. They’ll comfortably make the tournament and finish towards the middle of the Big 12. BYU is in their own tier, and TCU falls into this new tier with a few other teams where they should comfortably make the tournament, but don’t have that top 25 upside.
8. Cincinnati Bearcats
After trying over and over again to make the tournament with Wes Miller and rosters that had no shortage of talent, the program finally gave up after an 18-15 finish. So, they brought in Jared Calhoun, who has made it in back-to-back years as the Utah State coach. Cincinnati fans can expect to see the ball go in the basket, something they have experienced the joy of seeing in years, while still having a solid defense.
Javontae Campbell, MJ Collins, and Tyler Tejada all averaged over 17 PPG for their respective programs last year. Tylen Riley will facilitate, and Jayden Hastings will hold them in the middle. This team has great balance, and if Collins and Campbell are eligible, they can easily be the conference sleeper.
9. West Virginia Mountaineers
Only one team had ever won the College Basketball Crown, and that was Nebraska, which proceeded to have their best season in program history the year after. Hopefully, the trend continues for last year’s champions, West Virginia, who, overall, you could say, had a successful year one under Ross Hodge.
It’s hard to call a borderline top 20 freshman underrated, but Miles Sadler is. He can easily be the leading scorer for this program and one of the best players in the Big 12. He’ll pair nicely with Finley Bizjack, who is one of the cooler names in the sport and a solid guard who averaged 17 a game in the Big East. They really need Brenen Lorient eligible, or else there are some concerns with the frontcourt. Expect them to be on the bubble, but more likely than not the right side of it.
10. Baylor Bears
For the first time since 2006-2007, Baylor basketball didn’t finish with a winning record last year. 5-star freshman guard Dylan Mingo wasn’t born yet. It’s wildly impressive for a program like Baylor to maintain that level of success for so long, and a lot of credit goes to Scott Drew. Like Kansas, though, they’ve experienced a bit of a championship hangover, failing to make the second weekend since their 2021 title run.
They’re hoping the Mingo brothers, Dylan and Kayden, can bring them back. As mentioned, Dylan is a top 10 recruit, and Kayden scored just under 14 a game as a freshman at Penn State. Outside of them, they bring in a ton of experience, like Isaac Williams IV and Isaac Celiscar. The defense looks a bit concerning, and against Iowa State and the Houstons of the world, that could lead to some lopsided defeats, but they’ll be a lot better than last year.
11. UCF Knights
Johnny Dawkins is truly immortal. He has gone from hot seat to comfortably safe, back to hot seat, and now comfortably safe after 21 wins and a tournament appearance last year. He might never leave, and if he makes back-to-back tournament appearances for the first time in his 18 coaching seasons, then he won’t have to.
Like last year, this team is full of players who showed potential at one point, but couldn’t tap into it and are looking for another chance. Dior Johnson is the most notable, who boomerangs back to UCF after averaging 24 a game at Tarleton State last year. Mister Dean (yes, that’s his name) played just three games last year at Charleston, but averaged 16 a game as a freshman at USC Upstate.
Unless Dior Johnson is a true star, and John Bol becomes Dikembe Mutombo, UCF will most likely be on the bubble, and likely the wrong side of it.
12. Oklahoma State Cowboys
After looking really strong in the non-conference, nothing seemed to work in conference play for the Pokes. They went 6-12, dropping six of seven at one point. The seat isn’t warm yet for third-year coach Steve Lutz, but this season can determine the temperature in upcoming years.
Offensively, they should be great. If Parsa Fallah is eligible, that’s a huge get, because he was awesome down the stretch before his season-ending injury. He’ll be paired with his point guard Kanye Cleary, and two high-volume three-point shooters in Luka Bogavac and Jordan Burks. The depth is pretty shaky, and the defense won’t keep up with the offense, which could hurt with the tempo they play if they have a cold night.
They should win more than 6 games this year in conference play, but it’ll be an uphill battle to earn a spot in the tournament this year.
13. Arizona State Sun Devils
We’ll definitely miss the Jon Rothstein Bobby ****** Hurley tweets, but Arizona State fans are excited to finally have a chance to restart. They made the safe hire, bringing in Randy Bennett from Saint Mary’s, who has nearly 600 career wins. At 64 years old, who knows how many years he can give to this program before his well-deserved retirement, but hopefully, he can get them in a position to be a contender in the conference.
It doesn’t look like it’ll be this year, although Bennett does bring with him Paulius Murauskas, an elite big man and one of the best transfers last year. Joel Foxwell was another great WCC addition, after averaging 15 a game for Portland as a freshman. After that… we’ll see. Ben Defty was good at Boston, and Emmanuel Innocenti spent a few years being mentored by Bennett’s rival, Mark Few.
Bennett’s system will have them as a great defensive team, but the offense could be really stagnant at times.
14. Colorado Buffaloes
In a power conference in today’s age, you need to have a respectable NIL budget to compete. Unfortunately, Colorado basketball just doesn’t have that, whether it’s because Coach Prime is hogging it for himself or they just can’t find the right donors. They overachieved last year, winning seven games in conference play, but that’s about their ceiling.
Bringing back Barrington Hargress is huge; he’s the clear MVP. Justin Neely is another great piece after averaging a double-double at UNC Greensboro. That’s about all the offense they’ll get, and the defense won’t be much better. Luckily, there are two teams with somehow worse rosters than him, but they should be a lock ot finish 14th in the Big 12 this season.
15. Kansas State Wildcats
Jerome Tang is out, and yikes, it got messy at the end. It’s crazy that just a few years after the Elite 8 run in his first season, Kansas State would win 3 conference games. They have to restart with Casey Alexander, the longtime Belmont coach who boasted a 73.5% win percentage as the coach.
Somehow, it might have been easier for him to recruit at Belmont than Kansas State, because the roster he came up with does not look like a Big 12 one. Only one player on the team averaged double-digit scoring for their program last year, Brandon Reichsteiner, and the most rebounds a player averaged was 3.5. Only two players started 30 games last year. This is the same program that brought in PJ Haggerty and Coleman Hawkins the past two years.
Kansas State fans might have to sacrifice another gut-wrenching season in order to build for the next few. It could get ugly in Manhattan, and while three wins would be embarrassing, it isn’t out of the question.
16. Utah Utes
Alex Jensen won 10 total games and 2 games in conference play in year one as the Utah coach, which is not encouraging no matter how you look at it. This team might be worse. Their only glimmer of hope was Noam Yaacov, who was ruled ineligible and has already explored other options. Jackson Holcombe will have to be a star, and TJ Burch will have to average three steals a game.
This team should be better defensively after being one of the worst power conference teams last year, but the offense will be hard to watch.
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball Player of the Year
Tyran Stokes, Kansas
There’s no clear favorite for this award with Toppin being out for at least half the season, and we may see the best player on the best team get the nod like Jaden Bradley did last year. As for potential though, Stokes could not only be the best player in the conference, but also in college basketball.
He can score, rebound, facilitate, and defend. He can easily average similar stats that we saw with Darryn Peterson last year, at 20 PPG and 4.2 RPG, but with more consistency. His positional size is also a problem for defenders, especially with his ability to score on all three levels. In terms of pure talent, he is the best in the conference; we’ll see if it transfers to the court.
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball Coach of the Year
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Unless one of those teams in that 7-13 range makes a jump into the top 3-4 in conference standings, this award should go to the best coach on the best team, which is Sampson. Sampson continues to be one of the best coaches in basketball, and his defensive focus and intensity on that end have led to no shortage of wins year in and year out. Expect the same here.
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball Freshman of the Year
Tyran Stokes, Kansas
This is probably the most competitive race in any conference, with the quality of freshmen being impressive, but it has to go to Stokes. For all the same reasons he wins the conference player of the year, he’ll earn this title as well.
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball Transfer of the Year
Dedan Thomas, Houston
At 6-1, he may be a bit unassuming, but he was so good at LSU before his season-ending injury at the end of January. As a scorer, he averaged 15 a game, but where he really shined was his playmaking, where he averaged 6.5 assists a game, 13th most in college basketball.
As mentioned in the Houston ranking, Kelvin Sampson is so good at developing guards, and he clearly brought in Thomas knowing he can accomplish that. He might be the best player on the best team in the conference, making him the top transfer and maybe even the best player in the Big 12.
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball First Team
- G: Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
- G: Dedan Thomas, Houston
- F: Tyran Stokes, Kansas
- F: JT Toppin, Texas Tech
- C: Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball Second Team
- G: Robert Wright III, BYU
- G: Caleb Holt, Arizona
- F: Paulius Murauskas, Arizona State
- F: Ivan Kharchenkov, Arizona
- F: Joseph Tugler, Houston
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball Third Team
- G: Miles Sadler, West Virginia
- G: Killyan Toure, Iowa State
- G: Kayden Mingo, Baylor
- F: Xavier Edmonds, TCU
- C: Jaxon Kohler, BYU
CBB Review Preseason Big 12 Basketball All-Freshmen Team
- G: Dylan Mingo, Baylor
- G: Miles Sadler, West Virginia
- G: Caleb Holt, Arizona
- F: Tyran Stokes, Kansas
- F: Bruce Branch, BYU