If you thought the previous and most recent iteration of the Big 12 we saw in the 2023-24 season was a gauntlet — with Houston and BYU among the teams joining the conference last season — then you’ll be thrilled about the competitive chaos that lies ahead for the conference this season.
While Texas and Oklahoma have moved to the SEC, the Big 12 has added former Pac-12 members Arizona, Colorado, Arizona State and Utah, and in the process remade itself into a 16-team conference that should carry on its standing as the most formidable league in college basketball. From top to bottom, it has rated first in KenPom.com’s conference ratings of all 32 leagues three years running — and that isn’t likely to change this season.
That reputation as the king of conferences has been bolstered by its depth, but the top end of the league has more than carried its weight, too. And this year figures to be no different.
Here’s how our experts see the season shaking out in the Big 12 — with our preseason predictions for order of finish and Player of the Year all in the space below.
Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas | C | Gr.
Entering his fifth and final season, Dickinson is the face of a Kansas team that could start the season ranked No. 1 and will be the favorite to win the Big 12. The 7-foot-2 super senior is the leading returning scorer and rebounder in the Big 12, and he is in rarefied air as the first Big 12 player in a decade to return after averaging a double-double in points and rebounds — last done by Rico Gathers. Dickinson averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game last season for the Jayhawks and had his best rebounding season of his college career with a career-best 27.5% defensive rebounding rate that ranked 15th in college basketball.
Four more players to watch
Tamin Lipsey | PG | Iowa State: Keshon Gilbert is Iowa State’s leading returning scorer, but Tamin…
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