Walk into any arena in the Big 12 right now and you’ll feel it. That hum. It isn't just the noise of 15,000 screaming fans—it’s the realization that men's basketball Big 12 play has officially turned into a nightly street fight where nobody is safe. Seriously. We used to talk about the "round-robin" schedule like it was the gold standard for fairness. Now? With 16 teams stretching from the Arizona desert to the Florida coast, the round-robin is a ghost of the past, and what we’ve got left is a gauntlet that makes the old days look like a light jog.
Take a look at the standings as of January 17, 2026. Arizona is sitting there at 17-0. Undefeated. In this league. It feels impossible, honestly, considering they’re playing a schedule that includes trips to places like Morgantown and Ames. Tommy Lloyd has those guys firing on all cylinders, but if you think the rest of the conference is just rolling over, you haven't been watching the slugfests happening in the middle of the pack.
The Standings Are a Total Mess (In the Best Way)
Right now, we have a three-way tie at the top between Arizona, BYU, and Houston, all sitting at 4-0 in conference play. It's kinda wild to see BYU and Arizona—newcomers in the grand scheme of things—occupying the penthouse while the "traditional" powers are scrapping for air.
Just last night, Kansas took Baylor to the woodshed with an 80-62 win at Allen Fieldhouse. It was a statement. Bill Self’s squad had been hovering around the middle of the standings after some early stumbles, including a loss to Iowa State that snapped the Cyclones' own 16-0 start. But against Baylor, the Jayhawks looked like the vintage version of themselves. Darryn Peterson and Flory Bidunga both cleared 20 points. When those two are on, Kansas isn't just a Big 12 contender; they’re a national problem.
But look at Baylor. They’re 1-4 in the league. Baylor! A team with Tounde Yessoufou and Cameron Carr shouldn't be at the bottom, but that’s the reality of the 2026 Big 12. If you don't bring your 'A' game for forty minutes, you're going to get embarrassed. There are no "get right" games anymore. Even UCF is 3-1 and looking like a legitimate tournament team.
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Why the 18-Game Schedule Changed Everything
There was a lot of talk last year when the conference toyed with a 20-game schedule. Coaches hated it. Players were gassed by February. Basically, it was a meat grinder that left the league's best teams exhausted before the NCAA Tournament even started.
The move back to 18 games this season was a mercy rule for the travel alone. Think about the logistics. One week you’re in Provo, the next you’re in Orlando. That’s a lot of flight time. Brian Thornton, the Big 12 VP of Men’s Basketball, basically admitted that the coaches needed to "take a deep breath." By dropping those two games, the conference built in a bye week, which is basically worth its weight in gold for recovery.
The JT Toppin and Christian Anderson Show
If you haven't been paying attention to what’s happening in Lubbock, you're missing the best duo in the country. Period. Texas Tech is 13-4 overall and 3-1 in the league, largely because JT Toppin is playing like a man possessed. He’s currently leading the Big 12 in rebounding at 11.1 per game and dropping 21.3 points while he’s at it.
The chemistry he has with Christian Anderson is unreal. Anderson is averaging 7.5 assists, which leads the conference. Watching them run the pick-and-roll is like watching a masterclass in spacing and timing. They’ve got a massive showdown tonight against No. 11 BYU. If the Red Raiders win that one, the top of the standings is going to look even more crowded.
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Survival is the Only Metric That Matters
Honestly, the biggest misconception about men's basketball Big 12 right now is that there’s a massive gap between the top and bottom. There isn't.
Look at Cincinnati. They started 0-3 in conference play, but all three losses were by a combined 10 points. Then they turn around and beat Colorado. They’re 1-3, but they’re hosting No. 2 Iowa State today. Would anyone actually be shocked if the Bearcats pulled the upset? Probably not. That’s just life in this league.
- Houston is still the defensive gold standard, holding teams to 59.3 points per game.
- Arizona is the offensive juggernaut, averaging 91.0 points.
- Iowa State has the best scoring margin at +22.4, even after their first loss.
The sheer variety of styles is what makes it so hard to prepare for. You go from playing Kelvin Sampson’s "grind you into dust" defense at Houston to the "seven seconds or less" track meet that Tommy Lloyd runs at Arizona. It’s a coaching nightmare.
What to Watch for Next
If you’re trying to navigate the rest of the season, forget the preseason polls. They're useless now. Instead, focus on the Saturday/Monday turnarounds. That’s where the real depth of these rosters gets tested.
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Keep a close eye on the "middle tier" teams like West Virginia and Oklahoma State. They’ve both shown they can score in bunches—OSU is actually second in the league in scoring at 88.7 PPG—but their defense has been shaky. If one of those teams figures out how to string together stops, they could easily jump into the top four.
Actionable Insights for the Big 12 Grind:
- Watch the Home/Away Splits: Winning on the road in this conference is nearly impossible. Currently, Arizona, BYU, and Houston are the only teams with a perfect conference road record. If a team drops a home game (like Baylor did), they are in a massive hole immediately.
- Monitor the Freshmen: Keep an eye on Darryn Peterson at Kansas. He’s starting to figure out the physicality of the college game, and his scoring ceiling is higher than anyone else in the league.
- Check the Bye Weeks: With the return to the 18-game schedule, look for teams coming off their built-in bye. They’ll have fresh legs and a massive advantage against teams in the middle of a three-game week.
- Follow the Assist Leaders: Teams like Texas Tech and Iowa State that share the ball are proving more resilient than teams relying on a single "iso" scorer. Christian Anderson and Tamin Lipsey are the barometers for their respective squads.
Check the TV listings for tonight’s Texas Tech vs. BYU game. It's a sellout in Lubbock, it's on ESPN, and it's basically a preview of the high-stakes drama we're going to see all the way through the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.