How conference realignment has made Big 12 more intense

Last year, the Big 12 was among the nation’s best basketball conferences. In fact, the league ranked No. 1 in efficiency, according to KenPom, as seven teams made the NCAA tournament.

Then, four more teams — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — joined the fray. All four ranked in the Top 80 of the KenPom metrics in 2022-23, and they’re making their presence felt. BYU came in at No. 20 in the latest AP poll, and UCF defeated Kansas and Texas out of the gate to start conference play.

As crazy as it sounds, according to On3’s Joe Tipton, the strongest conference in the country got even better.

“Everyone knew the Big 12 was a gauntlet of a league,” Tipton told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “Everybody knows there’s no off nights. But you even think about a team like BYU coming into the conference from, you know, the mid major-plus ranks, right? You don’t expect them to be a top-25 caliber team. You don’t expect UCF to knock off Texas or Kansas.

“But the Big 12, eight ranked teams in the top 25, that’s not super uncommon. But the upsets that we’ve already seen this season is going to make it even more fun.”

It’s early, but it’s looking like it’s going to be another huge season for the Big 12. Four teams — Texas Tech, Kansas State, Kansas and Baylor — sit tied atop the standings at 3-1, followed by a seven-way tie at 2-2. Of course, there’s still plenty of time for movement with 14 more games left to play. But considering the impressive non-conference records and the amount of teams in the AP poll, it’s probably not much of a stretch to say the league is in a good standing.

And it’s only going to get better.

Despite Oklahoma and Texas’ pending departures, the Big 12 will add four more teams to the fray next season. The crown jewel from a basketball standpoint is Arizona, which has been near the top of the college basketball world under Tommy Lloyd. Utah is also having a strong 2023-24 season, and Colorado isn’t too far behind. That means the conference will bring in three top-40 teams in the KenPom rankings next year.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has said multiple times he wants to keep the conference’s basketball reputation in good standing. So far, the numbers suggest things are on the right track.