Why the Big 12 is expecting to move back to an 18-game men’s basketball schedule

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Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark addresses the media during the NCAA college Big 12 women’s basketball media day, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. | Charlie Riedel

The 20-game Big 12 men’s basketball conference schedule looks like it will be a one-year deal.

An hour before the 2025 Big 12 men’s basketball tournament tipped off at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Big 12 brass acknowledged that it is expected the men’s conference schedule will be 18 games next year, like the women were during the 2024-25 season.

The league bumped the number of conference games for men’s basketball from 18 to 20 this year, with the four corner schools — Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado — joining the Big 12.

When a media member broached the subject of a reduced number of conference games with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark during a press conference Tuesday morning, he had the league’s vice president over men’s basketball, Brian Thornton, explain the thinking behind the shift.

“That is our anticipation to go to 18 games, and one of the biggest impetuses for that is this, the balance of conference versus nonconference games,” Thornton said. “It’s extremely important because of the competitive nature of our conference, for there to be some ability to have a bye built into our schedule.”

Over the past 10 weeks, Big 12 men’s basketball teams have gone through the grind of a 20-game conference schedule, and several conference coaches have voiced their apprehensions over the schedule this season.

It’s also created some scheduling difficulties for a conference that now spans as far west as Utah and Arizona — including the Cougars and Utes — and as far east as schools like Cincinnati, West Virginia and UCF.

“Playing 20 games post-Christmas makes (having bye weeks) impossible to do, so we’re going to try 18 games, and we’re going to see how that goes,” Thornton continued. “Obviously, it’s extremely important for us to ensure that we have…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/why-big-12-expecting-move-205724016.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-03-11 20:57:00

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