Big 12 Basketball Tournament Bracket: Preview, Seeding, Schedule, TV Channel

The 2025 Big 12 Basketball tournament begins on Tuesday, March 11, and will conclude on Saturday, March 15. The Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team will open against the TCU Horned Frogs on March 11 at 1 p.m. MT.

Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) drives to the basket around Colorado Buffaloes guard Julian Hammond III (3) during the first half in the Big-12 men’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb.18, 2025 in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The stage is set for the Big 12 Tournament. The Colorado Buffaloes ended the season with a 12-19 record, 3-17 in Big 12 conference play, meaning the Buffaloes will enter the tournament as the No. 16 seed after finishing last in the Big 12. They will begin the tournament against the No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs.

Each team in the Big 12 makes the tournament with season standings dictating the seeding. The four teams that have a double bye are No. 1 Houston, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Arizona, and No. 4 BYU, and they will advance straight to the quarterfinals. The teams with a single bye are No. 5 Iowa State, No. 6 Kansas, No. 7 Baylor, and No. 8 West Virginia.

Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) drives to the basket around Colorado Buffaloes guard Julian Hammond III (3) during the first half in the Big-12 men’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb.18, 2025 in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tournament Schedule:

The Big 12 tournament will begin on March 11 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. It will conclude on Saturday, March 15, with the Big 12 Championship game.

First Round: Tuesday, March 11

Second Round: Wednesday, March 12 

Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 13

Semifinals: Friday, March 14

Big 12 Championship: Saturday, March 15

The OFFICIAL 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship bracket. pic.twitter.com/X61MfbE7VJ

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 9, 2025

How to Watch Big 12 Tournament:

The Big 12 tournament will be broadcasted on various ESPN channels.

First Round: ESPN+

Second Round: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+

Quarterfinals: ESPN, ESPN2

Semifinals: ESPN, ESPN2

Big 12 Championship: ESPN

Mar 8, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle during a timeout in the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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Colorado’s Big 12 Tournament Path:

The Colorado Buffaloes concluded the 2024-2025 regular season against the TCU Horned Frogs. The Buffaloes pulled off the win, 76-56. The two teams will face off right away in round one of the Big 12 tournament.

Colorado will face TCU on March 11 at 1 pm MT. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+. 

The Buffaloes are 3-3 all-time against the Horned Frogs. The two teams went 1-1 this season, heading towards a tie breaker in the tournament. In the season finale, Colorado guard Julian Hammond III scored 19 points and seven assists. Forward Trevor Baskin scored just eight points but had three blocks and 16 rebounds. It will be a tough matchup, but the Buffs have shown they can beat the Horned Frogs.

Colorado coach Tad Boyle spoke about the win against TCU as the team heads into their first Big 12 tournament.

“It’s amazing when you defend at a high level and you rebound at a high level how the score kind of takes care of itself,” Boyle said. 

Boyle took a moment to credit the team for their fight this season no matter what their record was.

“I feel blessed to coach young men that have the character that they have. And losing does not build character. I think it reveals it. This team could have sacked their bats and gone home, you know, a month ago, and they could have quit,” Boyle said.

Mar 5, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Trevor Baskin (6) goes to the basket against Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Kevin Overton (1) in the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

It was not an easy season for the Colorado Buffaloes. While the team won 12 games, they also went on a 13-game losing streak, eventually snapped by a win against the UCF Knights. Colorado’s biggest win of the season was against the UConn Huskies in the Maui Invitational. The Buffs won the game, 73-72.

The team has averaged 70.1 points per game, led by Hammond, who averaged 12.6 points. Hammond also led the team with 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals. Baskin leads the team, averaging 4.9 rebounds, and forward Bangot Dak leads, averaging 1.4 blocks.

The Buffaloes are the lowest seed, giving them one of the toughest routes to the Big 12 Championship. If Colorado defeats TCU, the Buffaloes would face the No. 8 West Virgina Mountaineers in the second round. The winner of that matchup will face the No. 1 Houston Cougars in the quarterfinals.