Should Big 12 Change Men's Basketball Schedule Format?
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The Big 12 tried out a new schedule format this season, but it might not have had the desired results.
Coming into the 2024-25 season, the Big 12 was set to have 16 teams for the first time after expanding for a second straight year. With more teams in the conference, the Big 12 also saw it fit to add more games to the men’s basketball schedule.
After years of having an 18-game slate, which worked perfectly in a 10-team league, the Big 12 decided to go with a 20-game schedule. For every team, the schedule was made up of three groups of five opponents. Each team would play five teams at home only, five teams on the road only and five teams home and away.
While the idea makes sense in theory, it didn’t seem to change much for the conference. While the general idea was to have as many two-game series as possible, the randomness of some of those matchups made it seem like a lackluster attempt.
While a 20-game schedule might make some sense, it simply needs some revision, specifically to the matchups that are played twice. Considering how much college basketball is about rivalries, it would make sense for the Big 12 to effectively pick five teams for each school to play twice every year. If every team played its five biggest rivals every season, it would add to the intensity of the regular season and give fans a chance to watch their team play in a rivalry or semi-rivalry game at home every year. Meanwhile, the rest of the schedule could simply feature the other 10 teams alternating home games every season.
Although not every team has some bitter rivals to match up against, and most teams don’t have a list of five, geography could also come into play. For example, Oklahoma State might not have Bedlam anymore, but playing teams close to it, such as Kansas State or TCU, twice every season would make plenty of sense all around.
There is no perfect solution to the schedule, and college basketball is an ever-changing landscape, but some solutions might turn out better than others.
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.