The worst kept secret in college basketball in recent years is that pretty much everyone across the sport considers the Big 12 to be the toughest conference around. Whether it's in major outlets' power rankings (like these from CBS Sports, or these from ESPN), or among top college basketball metrics like NET or RPI, it's clear that other basketball conferences just don't quite measure up.
With two of the last four national champions and the second-most Final Four appearances in the past five NCAA Tournaments, the Big 12 has the success to back up that type of talk. But they are in position to bolster their position as the premier league for college basketball in the ever-shifting landscape of college sports.
On Friday, news of UConn potentially joining the Big 12 -- with most of their sports, including basketball, joining as soon as the conference could negotiate an exit from the Big East or after the 27-month waiting period to leave the league ends following their official notice of intent to leave. Football, meanwhile, would come aboard in 2031 to allow a period for upgrading talent and NIL funding for the sport.
These talks are preliminary and it's likely such a move would face plenty of internal pushback from league members. But it's worth considering that as the Big 10 and SEC position themselves to consolidate power and dominate the football landscape of college sports, their will likely need to be a home for the best of the rest that don't make the cut for the football power leagues. And with the sustained popularity of March Madness and college basketball as a whole, it could be a strategically wise decision to capitalize on being the top basketball league in college sports.
It's clear that the league already has the base to be considered the best -- now, it's about making the correct moves to strengthen their grasp on the spot to make it so that rival leagues like the SEC and Big 10 can't come close to dethroning them on the hardwood.
Of course, the Big 12 does lose a pair of teams to the SEC in Oklahoma and Texas that are traditional football powers but have always had the resources to have some sustained success in basketball as well. But the programs that have shined the brightest in recent years and that are positioned to continue to do so -- Houston, Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State -- will continue to stick around.
In addition, Arizona joins this year -- a traditional basketball power who has been quite competitive recently. One of the other three new additions this season, Colorado, was the third-ranked team in NET and RPI in the Pac-12 last year. BYU joined last season and had quite an impressive year, and while they lose their head coach, they are amongst the Top 20 Division 1 programs with the most wins, exhibiting a history of competitiveness. Cincinnati and Utah also appear on that list (as well as previous aforementioned teams Kansas and Arizona), with West Virginia just outside at 21st-overall all time in victories
UConn would be a major addition -- they are back-to-back national champions, which would mean if they joined the conference, the Big 12 would have every national champion since the turn of the decade. They have won four national championships in the past 15 years, are tied for third all-time for most national championships, and have won the most national titles of any program since 2000. They are also among the Top 25 winningest programs ever.
With the Big 10 at 18 teams and the SEC at 16 teams with programs such as Florida State, Clemson, Miami, and Notre Dame likely contenders for future additions, I think it's wise for the Big 12 to go all in on a 20-24 team future super conference. With 24, the league could divide itself into three geographical groups for scheduling purposes -- maybe not divisions in the traditional sense, but loose pods that can be used to make sure the travel demands of a coast-to-coast conference aren't too overwhelming, particularly in a sport such as basketball.
And it just so happens the current landscape of college sports is ripe with opportunity to round out that sort of setup in a way that would solidify the Big 12's college basketball dominance for years to come.
With the new additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah -- as well as BYU, who joined in 2023 -- the foundation for a western pod is already in place. Washington State and Oregon State would fit perfectly as two former power conference programs currently without a home to fill out a pair of spots. Washington State is historically weak in basketball, but were the second-best team in NET and RPI in the Pac-12 last season and are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance. Both programs offer moderately competitive football and with Oregon State, baseball is often an upper-tier program as well.
But the real place to look to bolster the league as a basketball power on the west coast is San Diego State. The Aztecs are quite competitive on the hardwood -- they have made 11 of the last 14 NCAA Tournaments, and have four Sweet 16 appearances in the past 15 years. They were the 2023 NCAA Tournament runner-up, and they have won 25-plus games in 9 of the last 15 seasons. The school has harbored desires to move to the power conference level before, talking with the Big East and Pac-12 over the 2010s and 2020s.
To really shore up the basketball talent, it would also make sense to make another pass at Gonzaga. The league talked with the Zags previously, and . Gonzaga has made the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998, and have 14 Sweet 16, six Elite 8 and two Final Four appearances in that same timeframe. During that stretch, they've only had two seasons where they didn't won 25-plus games. While some success may be attributed to playing in a mid-major, it's clear they have become a basketball power.
While Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Houston, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State already make up a solid Midwestern pod, the eastern flank of the conference will also need some work. If UConn joins, we are looking at four teams east of the Mississippi -- the Huskies would join WVU, UCF, and Cincinnati.
If the ACC continues it's descent towards eventually imploding as the Pac-12 did, there will likely be a number of teams to take for the picking. It's certain that WVU or Cincinnati will likely push for 1-2 teams to be old Big East regional rivals such as Louisville (themselves with solid basketball history), Pitt, or Virginia Tech. However, that still leaves a couple spots open.
To truly consolidate basketball power, it'd be worth considering Duke. A school likely to be left out of the premier football conferences with a weaker history in the sport, the Blue Devils are a blue blood on the hardwood -- they'd bring 17 Final Four appearances, five national championships, and the fifth-winningest program ever to the Big 12.
While Duke's primary rival and blue blood program North Carolina is rumored to be a Big 10/SEC target, another traditional basketball power that would provide a historical for both WVU and UConn (if they join) is Syracuse, who is also amongst the most prestigious Division 1 programs ever. And North Carolina State could provide competitiveness in both football and basketball, and they are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a 2024 Final Four run.
Imagine a conference with Duke, UConn, Kansas, Houston, Arizona, and Gonzaga amongst the teams competing for a conference title, with other historical and recent winning programs like Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Louisville Syracuse, and WVU in the mix as well. It would be nearly untouchable in terms of basketball power -- they could claim 12 of the 24 national champions since 2000, and that number moves to 13 if you include Louisville's vacated 2013 title. Are these moves that the Big 12 should make to secure it's place as a fixture of college sports moving forward into a new era. Many would say it is.