2026 Big 12 men's basketball tournament
American college basketball competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Big 12 Conference men's basketball tournament (branded as the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament for sponsorship reasons) was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big 12 Conference. It was played from March 10–14, 2026, in Kansas City, Missouri at the T-Mobile Center.[1] The winning team, Arizona, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament.
| 2026 Big 12 men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| |
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Site | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, Missouri |
| Champions | Arizona (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Tommy Lloyd (1st title) |
| MVP | Jaden Bradley (Arizona) |
| Attendance | 107,974 |
| Television | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+ |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Arizona † | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 36 | – | 3 | .923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Houston | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 30 | – | 7 | .811 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Kansas | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 24 | – | 11 | .686 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Texas Tech | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 23 | – | 11 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Iowa State | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 29 | – | 8 | .784 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Virginia | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 17 | – | 17 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 20 | – | 15 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 Big 12 tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeds
All sixteen teams participated in the tournament. The top eight teams received a first round bye and the top four teams received a double bye into the quarterfinals.[2]
Teams were seeded by record within the conference. Ties were broken by head-to-head results, then results vs. the top seed in the conference and going down the standings until the tie was broken.[3]
| Seed | School | Conference records | Tiebreak 1 | Tiebreak 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona#‡ | 16–2 | ||
| 2 | Houston‡ | 14–4 | ||
| 3 | Kansas‡ | 12–6 | 2–1 vs Texas Tech & Iowa State | |
| 4 | Texas Tech‡ | 12–6 | 1–1 vs Kansas & Iowa State | |
| 5 | Iowa State† | 12–6 | 1–2 vs Kansas & Texas Tech | |
| 6 | TCU† | 11–7 | ||
| 7 | West Virginia† | 9–9 | 5–0 vs UCF, Cincinnati & BYU | |
| 8 | UCF† | 9–9 | 2–3 vs West Virginia, Cincinnati & BYU | 1–0 vs TCU |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 9–9 | 2–3 vs West Virginia, UCF & BYU | 0–1 vs TCU |
| 10 | BYU | 9–9 | 0–3 vs West Virginia, UCF & Cincinnati | |
| 11 | Colorado | 7–11 | 2–0 vs ASU | |
| 12 | Arizona State | 7–11 | 0–2 vs Colorado | |
| 13 | Baylor | 6–12 | 1–0 vs Oklahoma State | |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 6–12 | 0–1 vs Baylor | |
| 15 | Kansas State | 3–15 | ||
| 16 | Utah | 2–16 |
Notes: # – Big 12 regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed
‡ – Received a double-bye into the conference tournament quarterfinal round
† – Received a single-bye into the conference tournament second round
Overall records include all games played in the 2026 Big 12 tournament.
Schedule
Source:[4]
| Game | Time* | Matchup# | Final score | Television | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Tuesday, March 10 | |||||
| 1 | 11:30 a.m. | No. 12 Arizona State vs No. 13 Baylor | 83–79[5] | ESPN+ | 7,238 |
| 2 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 9 Cincinnati vs No. 16 Utah | 73–66[6] | ||
| 3 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 10 BYU vs No. 15 Kansas State | 105–91[7] | 12,542 | |
| 4 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 11 Colorado vs No. 14 Oklahoma State | 83–92[8] | ||
| Second round – Wednesday, March 11 | |||||
| 5 | 11:30 a.m. | No. 5 Iowa State vs No. 12 Arizona State | 91–42[9] | ESPN | 12,477 |
| 6 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 8 UCF vs No. 9 Cincinnati | 66–65OT[10] | ESPNU | |
| 7 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 7 West Virginia vs No. 10 BYU | 48–68[11] | ESPN2 | 12,811 |
| 8 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 6 TCU vs No. 14 Oklahoma State | 95–88[12] | ESPNU | |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12 | |||||
| 9 | 11:30 a.m. | No. 4 Texas Tech vs No. 5 Iowa State | 53–75[13] | ESPN | 14,745 |
| 10 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 1 Arizona vs No. 8 UCF | 81–59[14] | ||
| 11 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 2 Houston vs No. 10 BYU | 73–66[15] | ESPN2 | 17,015 |
| 12 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 Kansas vs No. 6 TCU | 78–73[16] | ||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 13 | |||||
| 13 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 Arizona vs No. 5 Iowa State | 82–80[17] | ESPN | 19,450 |
| 14 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 2 Houston vs No. 3 Kansas | 69–47[18] | ||
| Championship – Saturday, March 14 | |||||
| 15 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 1 Arizona vs No. 2 Houston | 79–74[19] | ESPN | 11,696 |
| *Game times in CDT. #-Rankings denote tournament seed. | |||||
Bracket
| First round Tuesday, March 10 | Second round Wednesday, March 11 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 12 | Semifinals Friday, March 13 | Championship Saturday, March 14 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 Arizona | 81 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | UCF | 66* | 8 | UCF | 59 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Cincinnati | 73 | 9 | Cincinnati | 65 | 1 | 2 Arizona | 82 | |||||||||||||||
| 16 | Utah | 66 | 5 | 7 Iowa State | 80 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 16 Texas Tech | 53 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 7 Iowa State | 91 | 5 | 7 Iowa State | 75 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Arizona State | 83 | 12 | Arizona State | 42 | 1 | 2 Arizona | 79 | |||||||||||||||
| 13 | Baylor | 79 | 2 | 5 Houston | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 5 Houston | 73 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | West Virginia | 48 | 10 | BYU | 66 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | BYU | 105 | 10 | BYU | 68 | 2 | 5 Houston | 69 | |||||||||||||||
| 15 | Kansas State | 91 | 3 | 14 Kansas | 47 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 14 Kansas | 78 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | TCU | 95 | 6 | TCU | 73 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Colorado | 83 | 14 | Oklahoma State | 88 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 92 | |||||||||||||||||||||
* denotes overtime period
Awards and honors
Team and tournament leaders
Source:[20]
| Team | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Minutes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Brayden Burries | 45 | Tobe Awaka | 29 | Jaden Bradley | 12 | Brayden Burries | 4 | Motiejus Krivas | 5 | Jaden Bradley | 97 |
| Arizona State | Santiago Trouet | 26 | Santiago Trouet | 19 | Noah Meeusen | 5 | Maurice Odum | 4 | Massamba Diop | 2 | Massamba Diop | 63 |
| Baylor | Cameron Carr | 25 | Cameron Carr | 7 | Isaac Williams | 4 | Isaac Williams | 3 | Tied | 1 | Obi Agbim | 35 |
| BYU | AJ Dybantsa | 93 | Keba Keita | 27 | Robert Wright III | 17 | Keba Keita | 6 | Dominique Diomande | 7 | AJ Dybantsa | 116 |
| Cincinnati | Moustapha Thiam | 32 | Baba Miller | 26 | Baba Miller | 10 | Tied | 2 | Moustapha Thiam | 7 | Baba Miller | 79 |
| Colorado | Bangot Dak | 22 | Bangot Dak | 8 | Barrington Hargress | 9 | Bangot Dak | 2 | Bangot Dak | 3 | Tied | 38 |
| Houston | Kingston Flemings | 46 | Chris Cenac Jr. | 25 | Kingston Flemings | 14 | Kingston Flemings | 7 | Tied | 4 | Emanuel Sharp | 89 |
| Iowa State | Joshua Jefferson | 59 | Joshua Jefferson | 29 | Tamin Lipsey | 15 | Joshua Jefferson | 7 | Joshua Jefferson | 3 | Joshua Jefferson | 97 |
| Kansas | Darryn Peterson | 38 | Flory Bidunga | 22 | Melvin Council Jr. | 9 | Darryn Peterson | 5 | Flory Bidunga | 3 | Melvin Council Jr. | 75 |
| Kansas State | PJ Haggerty | 27 | Taj Manning | 7 | Tied | 3 | Tied | 2 | Tied | 1 | PJ Haggerty | 37 |
| Oklahoma State | Anthony Roy | 49 | Christian Coleman | 17 | Kanye Clary | 11 | Vyctorius Miller | 5 | Christian Coleman | 5 | Christian Coleman | 71 |
| TCU | David Punch | 50 | David Punch | 17 | Jayden Pierre | 8 | Tied | 2 | David Punch | 6 | David Punch | 68 |
| Texas Tech | LeJuan Watts | 12 | LeJuan Watts | 7 | Jaylen Petty | 4 | Tied | 2 | Tied | 1 | Jaylen Petty | 37 |
| UCF | Jamichael Stillwell | 24 | Jamichael Stillwell | 26 | Themus Fulks | 9 | Jordan Burks | 3 | John Bol | 2 | Themus Fulks | 75 |
| Utah | Terrence Brown | 22 | Keanu Dawes | 12 | Terrence Brown | 6 | Terrence Brown | 2 | Tied | 1 | Seydou Traore | 35 |
| West Virginia | Honor Huff | 17 | Tied | 7 | Tied | 2 | Brenen Lorient | 2 | Honor Huff | 3 | Honor Huff | 37 |
All-Tournament Team
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Bradley | G | 6'3 | 200 | Sr. | Arizona |
| Brayden Burries | G | 6'3 | 185 | Fr. | |
| AJ Dybantsa | G | 6'9 | 185 | Fr. | BYU |
| Joseph Tugler | F | 6'8 | 230 | Jr. | Houston |
| Milan Momcilovic | F | 6'8 | 225 | Jr. | Iowa State |
Most Outstanding Player
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Bradley | G | 6'3 | 200 | Sr. | Arizona |
Playing surface controversy
In February 2026, the Big 12 announced that both the women's and men's tournaments would be played on a glass LED court built by ASB GlassFloor; the technology would allow for video, animated and interactive graphics, and real-time sponsorship placements to be displayed on the court. While a similar court was used for portions of NBA All-Star Weekend in 2024, the women's and men's tournaments marked the first time that a glass court would be used for official competitive play in the United States.[21]
The court faced a mixed reception from players, with some finding the surface to be more slippery than a traditional wooden court.[22][23][24] After a first round game between Kansas State and BYU, Kansas State player Taj Manning heavily criticized the court: "The lights and stuff caused [Kansas State player] Khamari [McGriff] to get a migraine. It’s a bad court. They shouldn’t bring it back. It’s just an eyesore. It’s constantly changing and stuff and flashing different lights. Nobody wants to play on that floor."[25][26]
During a quarterfinal game between Texas Tech and Iowa State, Texas Tech player Christian Anderson slipped on the court and injured his groin. Shortly after the game, in consultation with the coaches of the remaining teams, the Big 12 announced that the glass court would be removed and replaced with a standard wooden court for the semi-finals onward.[27][22][23][24]