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Brett Yormark believes there is 'no debate' in crowning Big 12 as 'No. 1 basketball conference in America'

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•about 16 hours•

BarkleyTruax

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark
Brett Yormark said the Big 12 remains “open for business,” and while he didn’t discuss future realignment, the league has its sights set on the ACC. (© Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports)

Discussion over the SEC being the premier college basketball conference in the country has been backed by potentially having 12 teams make the NCAA Tournament this season.

However, the Big 12 Conference has sustained success over the last few years, while the SEC is just now coming into its own. Citing rapid changes in the landscape of college athletics and conference realignment, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark explained why his conference will continue to produce a high level of basketball for years to come.

“Over the last five or 10 years, there’s no debate who the No. 1 basketball conference in America has been — and it’s been the Big 12,” Yormark told ESPN’s Rece Davis on College GameDay ahead of Houston vs. Iowa State. “And if you think about it, with realignment over the last two years, we got better. Think about Arizona, think about Houston here. Think about BYU. That being said, I do expect us to have a presence in San Antonio.

“That is the expectation when you think about Big 12 basketball and when we’re there, I think it further credentializes us as the number one basketball conference in America.”

The Big 12 had eight teams make the NCAA Tournament last season — a conference record and tied for the nation’s most in 2024. However, none of those teams made it to the Final Four. The Big 12 has not had a representative in the Final Four since Kansas won the NCAA Championship in 2022.

Houston last made the Final Four in 2021 but was not a member of the Big 12 Conference then. However, the Big 12 would claim back-to-back national titles as Baylor beat UCLA in the 2021 championship game. Kansas’ win the next year would solidify this fact.

From 2016-2022, the Big 12 missed out on sending a team to the Final Four just once, with the lone exception coming in 2017 which featured North Carolina (champion), Gonzaga, Oregon and South Carolina.

Currently, the Big 12 has eight teams in the tournament, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest projections. Both Houston and Iowa State are on the 2-seed line, while Arizona and Texas Tech are currently slated as 3-seeds if the NCAA Tournament began today.

If any of those teams can make the Final Four, Yorkmark’s comments will only be solidified further. It will serve as another feather in the cap of the Big 12 Conference and its investments in college basketball.