Colorado Buffaloes Big 12 Tournament Hub With Full Schedule, Bracket

Kansas City, Missouri, is the site of the 2026 Big 12 men's basketball tournament. After the West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the TCU Horned Frogs for the women's title, all 16 teams from the Big 12 are en route to the T-Mobile Center for a five-day sprint to decide a conference winner.

It's the second tournament to take place since the Big 12 had a conference realignment shakeup, adding the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Utah Utes and Colorado Buffaloes. Arizona won the regular-season league crown and will be looking to avenge a loss in last year's championship game, when the Houston Cougars won it. UH now looks to recapture the trophy as a No. 2 seed.

Colorado Buffaloes' Outlook

Mar 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle talks to his players in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at the CU Events Center. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

While the regular season hasn't been all fun, coach Tad Boyle's Buffs have taken a tangible step forward, finishing 17-14, 7-11 in Big 12 play. Last year, Colorado won nearly as many games against Big 12 opponents in the tournament (two) as it did in the regular season (three).

The backcourt is vastly improved, with guard Isaiah Johnson setting the program's freshman scoring record last Saturday against Arizona. Barrington Hargress has impressed as a scorer and distributor from the transfer portal, leading Colorado with 4.4 assists per game to go with 14.1 points.

The Buffaloes haven't had any statement victories this season, and are a long shot to win the conference to make the NCAA Tournament, but simply winning more raises hope for the future.

Big 12 Tournament Schedule

Mar 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes center Elijah Malone (50) defends on Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (13) in the first half at the CU Events Center. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Big 12 tournament's first-round matchups go as follows on Tuesday:

No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 13 Baylor, 10:30 a.m. MT
No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 16 Utah, 1 p.m. MT
No. 10 BYU vs. No. 15 Kansas State, 5 p.m. MT
No. 11 Colorado vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State, 7:30 p.m. MT

All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Each second-round game takes place on Wednesday and will be broadcast on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

The winner of Arizona State and Baylor advances to face No. 5 Iowa State. The winner of Cincinnati and Utah advances to face No. 8 UCF. The winner of BYU and Kansas State advances to face No. 7 West Virginia. The winner of Colorado and Oklahoma State advances to face No. 6 TCU.

Bracket

A historic #Big12MBB season has led us to this moment.

The OFFICIAL 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket is here 👀 pic.twitter.com/tkKZYPWggt
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 8, 2026

First-Round Predictions

In the first game on Tuesday, Baylor has more than enough offense to beat Arizona State and possibly send coach Bobby Hurley to the unemployment line. When the sides squared up once this season, the Bears won 73-68 at home. Expect another struggle, but for Baylor to prevail, 80-77.

Cincinnati might also have a new coach, but not before he oversees at least one conference tournament win. Utah won just two games against Big 12 opponents, including a close loss in Cincy. But with the Bearcats on a roll, winning six of their last eight games, expect them to win emphatically, 79-65.

BYU has struggled without the steady presence of guard Richie Saunders, but finished the year on a high note, upsetting AP No. 10 Texas Tech. The Cougs got a favorable matchup as well, having beaten K-State on the road by 10 points in January. While Saunders played in that game, expect star forward AJ Dybantsa and Co. to lead an 81-74 victory.

And in the nightcap, Colorado matched up well with Oklahoma State the last time the teams played in Boulder. While the Cowboys battle everyone hard, leading rebounder and second-leading scorer forward Parsa Fallah suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Feb. 24. It will be a nail-biter whether forward Sebastian Rancik plays or not, but the Buffaloes will survive and advance, 85-83.

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