Big 12 Schedule Release: 4 New Teams Looking to Make Their Mark
The 2022-2023 NCAA men’s basketball season included seven Big 12 teams that played in the Big Dance – the seventh time it’s happened since 2010. Following a busy off season, the conference announced on July 20th the schedule format for the 2023-2024 conference season.
According to the Big 12’s latest release, this season’s schedule was determined “based on a combination of geography, historical results and a poll of the coaches to best balance the schedule in terms of travel and competitiveness.”
For the past decade, the Big 12 conference has consisted of 10 teams, where rivalries have been forged and historic matchups have unfolded. This year, four new teams will join the conference, totaling 14 teams —the most it’s had since the Big 12 commenced in 1996.
The new members include BYU from the Western Coastal Conference and three teams from the American Athletic Conference: Houston, Cincinnati and UCF.
Teams will play five of their conference opponents twice and the rest once, totaling 18 conference games throughout the season.
Classic showdowns between longstanding powerhouses like Kansas and Texas always draw national attention, but the integration of the newcomers could create new rivalries within the Big 12 for years to come.
Last season, Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks secured their 21st regular season championship, behind a 13-5 conference record, but feel short in the post season conference tournament.
The Texas Longhorns proved to be the team to beat in the end-of-season tournament. The Longhorns won all three games and ended the tournament with a convincing win against the pre-season favorite Jayhawks.
Both teams will be looking to continue their previous success from the past season while making room for the four new teams looking to make their mark on the conference.
A full schedule with specific dates and times will be released at a later date.
Basketball fans looking to attend this exciting season of conference games can get tickets here.
