Big 12 Football: Why 18 Games?
The big 12 is shaking up its basketball schedule! starting next season, the conference will play an 18-game schedule instead of 20, a move designed to improve NCAA Tournament seeding and increase the number of bids.Coaches wanted more rest during conference play, and the strategic shift towards a stronger non-conference schedule is intended to showcase the league’s strength. Brian Thornton, Big 12’s VP for men’s basketball, highlighted this change as a key element. The goal: Maximize tournament bids through a more beneficial approach. Other top conferences, such as the ACC, have also adjusted their strategies. news directory 3 has the latest on the conference’s moves. What non-conference matchups will the Big 12 schedule? Discover what’s next…
Big 12 Basketball Schedule Reduced to 18 Games for 2025-26 Season
Updated May 28, 2025
Orlando, Fla. — The Big 12 Conference will scale back its men’s basketball conference schedule from 20 to 18 games, starting next season. This decision follows a one-year trial with the expanded schedule and aims to boost the conference’s performance in the NCAA Tournament.
Brian Thornton,Big 12 vice president for men’s basketball,said the move addresses concerns from coaches about a compressed schedule. The change provides teams with more opportunities for rest and strategic planning during the season. The goal is to maximize NCAA Tournament bids and improve seeding through a stronger non-conference schedule.
The Atlantic Coast conference (ACC) made a similar adjustment earlier in May after receiving only four NCAA Tournament bids,its lowest number in over a decade. by comparison, the Big 12 had seven bids this year, trailing the Big Ten and SEC.
Houston Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson acknowledged the competitiveness within the Big 12, noting the SEC’s extraordinary 14 tournament bids. The Big 12 hopes that a strategically enhanced non-conference schedule will elevate the conference’s national profile and improve its tournament prospects.
thornton emphasized the importance of the non-conference schedule in shaping perceptions of the conference’s strength. Success in these games, he said, will determine weather the Big 12 is viewed as a top conference heading into March Madness.
“The schedule got very compressed and when you’re planning in a league as challenging as ours, understandably our coaches wanted a little bit of an chance during the course of conference play to take a deep breath, and going to 18 games allows that,” Thornton said.
What’s next
The Big 12 will focus on scheduling high-quality non-conference games to strengthen its teams’ resumes for NCAA Tournament selection. The conference aims to improve its seeding and increase the number of bids it receives in future tournaments.