The Big 12 is consistently among the best men’s basketball conferences in the country, and this year’s version of the league is one of its most talented yet. The Arizona Wildcats are an obvious inner circle national championship contender. The Houston Cougars are after redemption after coming minutes away from Kelvin Sampson’s elusive first first ring a year ago. Iowa State is always a threat to make the second weekend of the big dance under head coach T.J. Otzelberger, and this has a case to be his best team yet. Kansas has been winning at an impressive clip even with an injured (or cramped) Darryn Peterson, but his last game of the regular season was the healthiest he looked yet.
The Big 12 should get seven or eight teams into the 2026 NCAA tournament, but first it has an automatic bid to hand out in Kansas City. The Big 12 tournament is again invading the T-Mobile Center in KC, and it promises to deliver the type of dramatic competition we’ve come to expect from this league over the years.
Arizona will be the favorite as the top seed with a dominant defense and three of the country’s best freshmen, but the Wildcats’ lack of shooting leaves them susceptible to an upset if they go down early. Houston has been struggling a bit to close the regular season, but they have the pieces to win this tournament. Looking for an upset pick? I like UCF, who will be playing for its tournament lives on the bubble.
Here’s the full 2026 Big 12 men’s basketball tournament bracket and schedule. We’ll update this post as the results come in.
Big 12 tournament bracket 2026 men’s basketball
Big 12 tournament men’s basketball schedule and results 2026
First Round – Tuesday, March 10
Game 1: No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 13 Baylor (ESPN+) – 12:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 16 Utah (ESPN+) – 3 p.m. ET
Game 3: No. 10 BYU vs. No. 15 Kansas State (ESPN+) – 7 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 11 Colorado vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State (ESPN+) – 9:30 p.m. ET
Second Round – Wednesday, March 11
Game 5: No. 5 Iowa State vs. Game 1 winner (ESPN/2) – 12:30 p.m. ET
Game 6: No. 8 UCF vs. Game 2 winner (ESPNU) – 3 p.m. ET
Game 7: No. 7 West Virginia vs. Game 3 winner (ESPNU) – 7 p.m. ET
Game 8: No. 6 TCU vs. Game 4 winner (ESPN2/U) – 9:30 p.m. ET
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12
Game 9: No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Game 5 winner (ESPN/2) – 12:30 p.m. ET
Game 10: No. 1 Arizona vs. Game 6 winner (ESPN/2) – 3 p.m. ET
Game 11: No. 2 Houston vs. Game 7 winner (ESPN/2) – 7 p.m. ET
Game 12: No. 3 Kansas vs. Game 8 winner (ESPN/2) – 9:30 p.m. ET
Semifinals – Friday, March 13
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner (ESPN/2) – 7 p.m. ET
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner (ESPN/2) – 9:30 p.m. ET
Final – Saturday, March 14
Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner (ESPN) – 6 p.m. ET
