3 Takeaways From Baylor Basketball's 2026-27 Big 12 Schedule
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College basketball season is inching closer and that realization hit home on Thursday when the Big 12 Conference announced conference games for the 2026-27 season.
We now know Baylor's schedule and we are going to react to the Bears' conference slate this season.
Baylor's home and home could be worse — but no TCU
Baylor will have three home-and-home series this season. The Bears will host and return the favor with UCF, Colorado, and Kansas this season. Obviously, the Jayhawks are a contender, as they are every year, but playing both UCF and Colorado home and away isn't a bad draw for Scott Drew's program.
It's never easy going on the road during the Big 12 season and stealing wins, but those two teams might've been two of the better draws. Last season, the Knights were in the middle of the road in the Big 12, as the Buffaloes finished 7-11.
Entering the new season, power rankings suggest both UCF and Colorado could be the bottom feeders in the conference.
Fans aren't happy about not playing rival TCU home and away, and this season, Baylor will go to TCU on Jan. 19.
Final four games could mean a lot for the Bears
Baylor doesn't have a horrible stretch to start the season — more on that later — but the finishing stretch could mean a lot for Drew's program. The Bears hope to have a much better season this year and contend to win the Big 12.
And if Baylor does have a better start, the final four games could prove to mean everything. The Bears will finish the season with vs. Iowa State, at Arizona, at Arizona State, and vs. Kansas.
Arizona State is a bit of a wild card, but we know that the Cyclones, Wildcats, and Jayhawks are going to be competitive. Those last four games could either make or break Baylor's Big 12 chances.
Bears could have a big start to the season
Back to the first part of Big 12 play. Baylor will open things up against Kansas State in Waco, and then the Bears will have two challenging games: at Texas Tech and a home game against Houston. But after that, if the Bears are playing well, it could be smooth sailing.
The next five games are more than winnable and if Baylor could beat either the Red Raiders or the Cougars, that could be the start Scott Drew needed to get the Bears back in contention.
A lot will matter on how the Bears perform in non-conference play this season, but strictly looking at conference play, it appears Baylor had a nice draw.
Full Big 12 schedule
- Jan. 2 vs. Kansas State
- Jan. 6 at Texas Tech
- Jan. 10 vs. Houston
- Jan. 13 at UCF
- Jan. 16 vs. Oklahoma State
- Jan. 19 at TCU
- Jan. 27 vs. Colorado
- Jan. 30 at Utah
- Feb. 2 at BYU
- Feb. 6 vs. UCF
- Feb. 9 vs. Cincinnati
- Feb. 13 at Colorado
- Feb. 17 at Kansas
- Feb. 20 vs. West Virginia
- Feb. 23 vs. Iowa State
- Feb. 27 at Arizona
- March 2 at Arizona State
- March 6 vs. Kansas
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Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.
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