The Big 12\u2019s unity of vision sets it apart from the four other major conferences\u2014and it\u2019s showing![\"Kansas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01kw0enhtamemd6jgebh.jpg\" "\\"Kansas")
<\/p>\n
Kansas\u2019s Darryn Peterson and BYU\u2019s AJ Dybantsa, both Big 12 products, went Nos. 1 and 2 in this week\u2019s NBA draft. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Like all of college sports, each of the five major men\u2019s college basketball leagues\u2014the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East and SEC\u2014find themselves at a crossroads. The Big 12, however, is in all likelihood the only conference standing at that crossroads and smiling.<\/p>\n
The SEC is 14 months removed from the greatest season by a single conference in men\u2019s hoops history, but football is king in the south, and the league\u2019s slight gridiron recession in recent years rankles. The plutocratic Big Ten enjoyed a superb \u201926, but also views football as priority one and continues to take criticism for its bicoastal lineup.<\/p>\n
Among the (ostensibly) basketball-first leagues, the ACC remains mired in a longstanding identity crisis despite recent year-over-year improvement. The Big East, once reliably deep, sent just three teams to the NCAA tournament in \u201926 and can be reasonably described as top-heavy.<\/p>\n
The Big 12 is different. The league has the manufactured feel of modern conferences but less of their coldness, because it has maintained a number of rivalries. As alluded to previously, it\u2019s geographically large but not imposingly so, with only one complete outlier if you pair off the Bearcats and West Virginia.<\/p>\n
More to the point, every program in the league can credibly claim to be pulling their weight. In brief: Arizona is a near-blue blood and Arizona State has a deep sports tradition; BYU and the Utes are mortal enemies in a booming state; oft-forgotten Colorado has been to six tournaments in 15 years; Baylor, Houston and Texas Tech are among the most successful programs of the last decade; TCU has made five of nine tournaments under a respected coach; the Jayhawks need no introduction; Kansas State and Oklahoma State have long histories of success despite recent struggles; the Cyclones look like a perennial power under coach T.J. Otzelberger; Cincinnati and the Knights are situated in major metro areas; West Virginia, despite a rough few years, looks on the upswing.<\/p>\n
That culture of success and (for the time being) unity, combined with the conference\u2019s willingness to spend, makes the Big 12\u2019s avalanche of NBA draft picks seem like a predictable event. Expect more of the same next year, with three of Sports Illustrated\u2019s Kevin Sweeney\u2019s<\/a> top four 2027 prospects<\/a> hailing from the league. It may not be the best or richest league on paper, but if you want to understand the college game in \u201926, the Big 12\u2019s is the language you\u2019ll have to learn.<\/p>\n More College Basketball From\u00a0Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n Listen to SI\u2019s college sports podcast,\u00a0Others Receiving Votes, below or on\u00a0Apple<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on\u00a0SI\u2019s College YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on Google