Big 12 Tournament 2024: Men's Schedule, Bracket Predictions and Players to Watch
The deepest conference in men's college basketball will play in an expanded conference tournament in 2024.
The Big 12's expansion to 14 teams added an extra day to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
Most of the focus will be on the quarterfinals, when the Houston Cougars, Iowa State Cyclones and Kansas Jayhawks should appear for the first time.
Houston is vying to win the regular-season and conference tournament titles in its first season in the Big 12.
The Cougars come into Saturday with a one-game edge on Iowa State and a favorable schedule to help it complete the regular-season crown.
The higher seeds typically fare the best in the Big 12 tournament. Only Iowa State in 2014, 2017 and 2019 won the Big 12 tournament as a No. 4 seed or lower.
Big 12 Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, March 12
No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed (3 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Wednesday, March 13
No. 5 seed vs. No. 12/13 winner (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed (3 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 6 seed vs. No. 11/14 winner (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Thursday, March 14
No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 vs. 12/13 winner (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 1 seed vs. No. 8/9 winner (3 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 2 seed vs. No. 7/10 winner (7 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 vs. 11/14 winner (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
Friday, March 15
Semifinal No. 1 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
Semifinal No. 2 (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN or ESPN2)
Saturday, March 16
Championship Game (6 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Bracket Predictions
1. Houston
2. Iowa State
3. Baylor
4. Kansas
5. Texas Tech
6. TCU
7. BYU
8. Texas
9. Oklahoma
10. Kansas State
11. UCF
12. Cincinnati
13. Oklahoma State
`14. West Virginia
Houston sits in terrific shape to land the No. 1 seed in Kansas City.
The Cougars finish the regular season against the Oklahoma Sooners, UCF Knights and then with Kansas at home.
Kansas displayed plenty of inconsistencies this season and it could drop to the No. 4 seed if it loses to Houston next week and to the Baylor Bears on Saturday.
Baylor's final regular-season foe, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, should be fine in the No. 5 seed before March 9. Tech plays the West Virginia Mountaineers and Oklahoma State Cowboys before the Baylor game.
Saturday's clash between the TCU Horned Frogs and BYU Cougars may not provide clarity to the middle of the Big 12 since BYU visits Iowa State on Wednesday.
TCU should beat West Virginia and UCF next week, and if BYU slips up, the race for the Nos. 5-8 seeds will get messy.
The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas State Wildcats could be dangerous in the next week, or in Kansas City, to solidify their positions in the NCAA men's basketball tournament after rough Big 12 regular seasons.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller projected Oklahoma would be safely in and K-State is on the outside in his latest NCAA tournament projection.
The Sooners are safe, but if they lose to Houston, Cincinnati and Texas and face an early exit in Kansas City, they could lose ground for seeding.
K-State needs to beat Kansas or Iowa State in its final two games and make a push at the Big 12 tournament to get into the field of 68.
Players to Watch
Max Abmas, Texas
Max Abmas is one of two recognizable faces from NCAA tournaments past starring in the Big 12 this season.
The former Oral Roberts star ranks third in the Big 12 in individual scoring at 16.5 points per game.
Abmas starred three seasons ago in Oral Roberts' run to the Sweet 16. He has not stopped scoring since and his March experience could be critical for the Texas Longhorns to make a push in both the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Hunter Dickinson's role at Kansas will come with more pressure in March if Kevin McCullar is not healthy.
McCullar, the Big 12's leading scorer, dealt with injuries all season and Kansas looks like a completely different team without him.
The Jayhawks need to bank on Dickinson's lengthy March experience at Michigan to create some momentum going into the NCAA tournament.
Dickinson is the Big 12's second-leading scorer and he may need a few 20-point performances to get the Jayhawks through the bracket.
Jamal Shead, Houston
Jamal Shead is Houston's do-it-all senior leader.
Shead typically plays over 30 minutes per game and can impact a Big 12 battle in a variety of ways.
Shead averages 13.1 points, 6.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He will be an integral part of Houston's run through its first Big 12 tournament, even if he does not score a ton of points.