With just days left until Selection Sunday and March Madness, it’s crunch time in conference tournaments around the country.
Arizona stands above the rest of the Big 12 after winning the regular season title and appears to be a lock for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats went 29-2 this season and the two games they dropped came in early February against Kansas and Texas Tech — two very good teams that could make March Madness runs of their own.
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That said, of all the major conference tournaments this week, this one feels the most wide open. Perennial contender Houston has another stacked team. The Cougars went 26-5 and have repeatedly looked capable of making another Final Four run under Kelvin Sampson.
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Who will hoist the trophy in Kansas City? Follow along below for scores, highlights, bracketology and more (scroll for live updates).
Big 12 men’s basketball tournament
When: March 10-14
Where: T-Mobile Center | Kansas City, Missouri
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+
Big 12 tournament bracket, scores
Big 12 schedule, results (all times ET)
Friday, March 13 — Semifinals
Game 13 | No. 1 Arizona 82, No. 5 Iowa State 80
Game 14 | No. 2 Houston vs. No. 3 Kansas | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/2
Live115 updatesFri, March 13, 2026 at 6:37 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 8:24 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Jayhawks have had some decent looks, too. Houston is playing great defense. But it’s been one of those awful shooting luck nights for KU too.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 8:16 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
With Houston’s lead now 21 points, this game looks all but over.
Kansas is shooting 21% from the field. Really. The Jayhawks are 8-of-38.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 8:09 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
That stat tells you all you need to know so far.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 8:06 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Cougars have outscored the Jayhawks 9-2 so far in the second half
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:58 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Kansas coach Bill Self took a timeout less than 2:30 into the first half. He’s now taken a timeout less than 2:30 into the second half after Houston exteneded its lead to 13.
KU has missed all four of its shots so far this half.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:37 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Kansas gave up a cheap two points with 11 seconds to go when Elmarko Jackson fouled Kingston Flemings near halfcourt. Flemings saw the foul coming and put up a shot to draw three free throws … and then drew an offensive foul from Jackson with less than a second to go before halftime.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:33 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Houston’s scoring drought is now at 3:39 as the Cougars call timeout following a fast break dunk by Darryn Peterson off a steal.
Kansas is suddenly back in this game thanks to Houston’s inability to score.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:26 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Cougars are still up by that much despite not scoring for the past two minutes. Kansas is shooting 7-of-24 from the floor and just 3-of-14 from inside the arc.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:19 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Cenac buries a 3-pointer to have 13 points through the first 15:18 of the game. The Cougars have outclassed the Jayhawks so far on both ends.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:17 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Cenac is a bit overlooked among Houston’s freshman given how good Kingston Flemings is. But the big man has improved as the season has gone on and has been fantastic so far.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:14 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Jayhawks have composed themselves after a rough start, but Peterson will need help and they still trail by two possessions with 8:27 to go.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 7:04 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
But he’s going to need a lot more help. Houston’s defense has been suffocating so far … and the Cougars are shooting 50% from the field.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:57 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Houston leads 13-2 as Kansas is 0-of-5 from the field and has two turnovers.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:54 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
After a JoJo Tugler offensive rebound led to a Chris Cenac dunk, Bill Self was absolutely livid with his team.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:52 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Kansas is very dependent on Flory Bidunga’s presence this year. That probably won’t change tonight.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:12 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
What a sequence for Jaden Bradley! His game-winner for the Wildcats knocks off Iowa State 82-80.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:09 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
After Arizona used its fouls to give, Tamin Lipsey hits a three with 15.2 seconds to go and an 80-80 tie.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:07 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Momcilovic is on fire. He’s up to 28 points and is 8-of-14 from the 3-point line.
This has been a phenomenal game — and maybe the best game of conference tournament week so far.
Arizona leads 78-77 with 1:04 to go.
Fri, March 13, 2026 at 6:05 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
Arizona leads by 4 with less than two minutes to go after three consecutive three pointers (Moncilovic, Dell’Orso and Jefferson) followed by a fantastic offensive rebound and feed underneath to Tobe Awaka.