The Big 12/SEC Challenge is Coming to an End & Huggins Doesn't See a Need to Replace It
After this weekend, the Big 12/SEC challenge will become a thing of the past. The SEC is set to move into a challenge with the ACC beginning next year, leaving the Big 12 out to dry.
The Big 12 does, however, still have an agreement with the Big East conference for a "challenge" through the 2024-25 season. As difficult as the league already is, it may be wise of commissioner Brett Yormark to not find a replacement for the Big 12/SEC challenge and just allow each of his members play an extra non-conference game before the start of league play.
"I don't know why we would need one," West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins responded when asked about the future of the challenge. "The numbers tell you it's far and away the hardest league. And all the people who come up with the numbers continue to say that you could pretty much fill the top five spots with all Big 12 teams. And conceivably more than that. I think people ought to worry about playing the people in our league, not vice versa."
The challenge began in 2013-14 and at first, the Big 12 dominated it, going 20-10 overall over the first three years. Since, the Big 12 has only won the challenge once as the SEC has won three of the last six, including the last two, with two ties being mixed in.
For the last handful of years, many around the college basketball landscape have tabbed the Big 12 as the premiere conference in the country. However, with the SEC winning the last two challenges, the folks in that region believe that winning the challenge means the Big 12 isn't as tough as it is perceived to be.
"Let them go through what we go through on a year by year basis," said Huggins. "We're playing the best teams in the country year by year. I mean, you can say what you want about any other league...there's not a Kansas in the other league...any other league that's done what Kansas has done. You go back and look at the strength of what our people do in the NCAA Tournament to what people do out of conference, it's not close. Let 'em do it. Let 'em try. I've coached in those leagues and I've coached against those guys. It's not the same."
Huggins is right. Playing one game against another conference, in the middle of conference play for that matter, doesn't mean one league is better than the other. A lot of the results can be skewed by matchups. The conferences attempt to make even matchups but that's done in the preseason and no one has any clue as to how good or bad any one team will be.
Plus, as Huggins mentioned, guys could be banged up for that lone non-conference game such as starting WVU point guard Kedrian Johnson. "If he's not able to go, that's a huge blow for us. A huge blow."
The Big 12 is already challenging enough with 90% of its teams in the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid. Well, really, 100% because if Texas Tech gets hot, which they're very capable of doing, they'll re-enter the conversation. The thought was that it would give teams a "break" from conference play but it's not really much of a break when in WVU's case, you're playing against a top 15 team in the country. If anything, a game like this needs to be played prior to the start of conference play. Not right in the middle of it.
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