Men’s Basketball: Big 12/SEC Challenge Preview
It’s the last Saturday in January. That can only mean one thing in the world of college basketball – it’s time for the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Saturday’s schedule, all on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU), has ten men’s basketball games, each featuring one team from the Big 12 and one team from the SEC.
This is the tenth straight year for this challenge. The SEC won last year’s challenge, having won six of the ten games played. It was the second consecutive year for the SEC to win the challenge. The Big 12 is still the overall leader in the challenge, leading both in the challenge count (4-3-2) and in games played (48-41).
Baylor has the best record among Big 12 schools in the challenge (7-2), with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech right behind at 6-3.
TCU is 5-4 in the challenge. Last year, the Horned Frogs hosted then No. 19 LSU and won 77-68. Since the beginning of the challenge in the 2013-14 season, the Horned Frogs have beaten Mississippi State (2014), Ole Miss (2015), Tennessee (2016), Florida (2019), and LSU (2022). They then lost to Auburn (2017), Vanderbilt (2018), and Arkansas (2020).
Here is a breakdown of how each conference fared each year of the challenge:
| Year | Winner | Games Won/Lost |
|---|---|---|
2014 | Big 12 | 7-3 |
2015 | Big 12 | 6-4 |
2016 | Big 12 | 7-3 |
2017 | Tie | 5-5 |
2018 | SEC | 6-4 |
2019 | Big 12 | 6-4 |
2020 | Tie | 5-5 |
2021 | SEC | 5-4 (one game canceled) |
2022 | SEC | 6-4 |
All Years Combined | Big 12 (4-3-2) | 48-41 (.539) |
Each year, five of the ten games are played on Big 12 courts, and five are on SEC courts.
This year’s contest includes nine ranked teams, with five in the Top Ten. The ranked teams include Alabama (#2), Tennessee (#4), Kansas State (#5), Kansas (#9), Texas (#10), TCU (#11), Iowa State (#12), Auburn (#15), and Baylor (#17). One matchup in this challenge is a ranked-versus-ranked team, Tennessee hosting Texas.
Of the 20 teams playing in this year's conference, only one, Ole Miss, is not at .500 or higher for the season.
All times are Central Standard Time.
Saturday, January 28
West Virginia (12-8) vs. #15 Auburn (16-4)
11 a.m., ESPN
WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV
LSU (12-8) vs. Texas Tech (10-10)
1 p.m., ESPNU
Maravich Center, Baton Rouge, LA
Missouri (15-5) vs. #12 Iowa Stat (15-4)
1 p.m., ESPN2
Mizzou Arena, Columbia, MO
Oklahoma (11-9) vs. #2 Alabama (18-2)
1 p.m., ESPN
Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
#17 Baylor (15-5) vs. Arkansas (14-6)
3 p.m., ESPN
Ferrell Center, Waco, TX
Mississippi State (12-8) vs. #11 TCU (16-4)
3 p.m., ESPN2
Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, MS
#5 Kansas State (17-3) vs. Florida (12-8)
5 p.m., ESPN2
Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS
#4 Tennessee (17-3) vs. #10 Texas (17-3)
5 p.m., ESPN
T-B Arena, Knoxville, TN
Kentucky (14-6) vs. #9 Kansas (16-4)
7 p.m., ESPN
Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
Oklahoma State (11-9) vs. Ole Miss (9-11)
7 p.m., ESPN2
Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, OK
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