It’s a whole new world for Arizona, which after years of having the Pac-12 Tournament right around the corner in Las Vegas must now fly to the Midwest in quest of a conference tourney title.
The Big 12 Tournament has been held annually in Kansas City since 2010—and is locked into that city until at least 2031—and will provide a very different atmosphere than the one the Wildcats and their fans have enjoyed in what became known as “McKale North.”
“I would imagine that Kansas and Iowa State are going to kind of own the arena,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Saturday. “But we’re here for it. We’re here to compete. We’re in the Big 12, that’s where the conference tournament is, so we’re going to show up like everyone else.”
All 16 Big 12 teams will participate in the tournament, which begins Tuesday with four first round games at the T-Mobile Center. Four more games are on tap for Wednesday and Thursday, with the semifinals set for Friday night and the championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
Arizona (20-11) is the No. 3 seed and will play an opponent to be determined in the quarterfinals Thursday at 6:30 p.m. PT. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Wildcats are +700 to win the tourney and claim the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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Here’s a look at the tourney field and what to expect:
The favorite: No. 1 Houston
The Cougars (27-4) absolutely dominated the league, winning the most games in Big 12 history and becoming the first team from a major conference in Division I history to go 10-0 on the road. Houston is even money to win this tourney, per FanDuel, at +100.
Hottest team: No. 4 BYU
The other Cougars (23-8) bring an 8-game win streak to Kansas City, a run that includes wins at Arizona and Iowa State and a 34-point beatdown of Kansas. BYU is +1600 to win it all mostly because it would have to play Houston in the semifinals, but it’s been a long time since they lost by 31 to the regular season champs in early January.
Dark horse: No. 6 Kansas
The preseason No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll, and the coaches’ pick to win the league, the Jayhawks (20-11) beat Michigan State and Duke in November but then beat only two likely NCAA-bound teams the rest of the way. The most experienced team in the country, per KenPom.com, Kansas is +1200 to take its first Big 12 title since 2022.
Potential bid stealer: None
According to BracketMatrix.com, the Big 12 is in line to send eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, with No. 7 Baylor (18-13) and No. 8 West Virginia (19-12) the most in peril. Neither can afford to lose their first games, which would be Wednesday in the second round.
Of the bottom eight teams, who would need to win five times in as many days to get the automatic bid, the best Big 12 title odds belong to No. 13 Cincinnati (17-14) at +15000.
Best 1st round matchup: No. 11 Utah vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State
Utah (16-15) fired head coach Craig Smith two weeks ago and has already replaced him for next season with former Ute standout Alex Jensen. As a power conference team with a winning record the Utes probably would get an NIT invite if they wanted one, and how they play in this opener would indicate whether they do.
Oklahoma State (15-16) won seven Big 12 games under first-year coach Steve Lutz, nearly double what it had the previous season. KenPom predicts an 81-80 victory for Utah, so this should be a barnburner.
2025 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule
(all times PT)
Tuesday (1st round)
- No. 12 Oklahoma State vs. No. 13 Cincinnati (9:30 a.m., ESPN+)
- No. 9 TCU vs. No. 16 Colorado (12 p.m., ESPN+)
- No. 10 Kansas State vs. No. 15 ASU (4 p.m., ESPN+)
- No. 11 Utah vs. No. 14 UCF (6:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Wednesday (2nd round)
- No. 5 Iowa State vs. OSU/Cincinnati winner (9:30 a.m., ESPN or ESPN2)
- No. 8 West Virginia vs. TCU/Colorado winner (12 p.m., ESPN+)
- No. 7 Baylor vs. KSU/ASU winner (4 p.m., ESPN+)
- No. 6 Kansas vs. Utah/UCF winner (6:30 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Thursday (Quarterfinals)
- No. 4 BYU vs. ISU/OSU-Cincy winner (9:30 a.m., ESPN or ESPN2)
- No. 1 Houston vs. WVU/TCU-Colorado winner (12 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2)
- No. 2 Texas Tech vs. Baylor/KSU-ASU winner (4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2)
- No. 3 Arizona vs. Kansas/Utah-UCF winner (6:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2)
Friday (Semifinals)
4 & 6:30 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
Saturday (Championship)
3 p.m. (ESPN)