The Big 12 didn’t have many teams in action on Thursday, but will be busy on Friday at the NCAA tournament.
We’re one full day into March Madness, and there’s already been plenty of action on the court, with 16 more games set to grace your televisions and computer screens on Friday. Few conferences have the power at the top of the league that the Big 12 possesses, though it has been a quiet start to the tournament for the conference.
No Big 12 teams were relegated to the First Four, and just three played on Thursday. The remaining five of the conference-record eight programs will be in action on Friday, including No. 1 seed Arizona. No. 2 Houston, last year’s national runner-up, No. 2 Iowa State and No. 4 Kansas are the league’s favorites to cut down the nets in a few weeks. They’re joined in the field by No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 BYU, No. 9 TCU and No. 10 UCF, though the Cougars have already been eliminated, likely ending the impressive college run of AJ Dybantsa. The East Region is the most heavily populated by Big 12 teams, though the Jayhawks are the highest seed in that quadrant. Houston is alone in the South, Arizona heads up the West and the Midwest features a pair of Big 12 teams, most notably Iowa State. Xavier Edmonds scored 16 points as part of a balanced TCU attack that took down Ohio State in the first game of the first round of March Madness. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesJust three Big 12 teams were in action on Thursday, and two of them came out victorious, putting the league’s record at 2–1 entering Friday’s games. No. 9 TCU opened the Big Dance with a dramatic 66–64 win over No. 8 Ohio State, outlasting the Big Ten program in a back-and-forth contest. Micah Robinson led the Horned Frogs with 18 points, knocking down 4-of-6 shots from deep, while David Punch had 16 points and 13 rebounds. No. 2 Houston made easy work of No. 15 Idaho, opening up a 24-point lead at the half and cruising to a 78–47 win. It wasn’t all pretty, however, as No. 6 BYU dropped its game against No. 11 Texas. Dybantsa flashed his impressive potential in what was likely his final game with the Cougars, scoring 35 with 10 rebounds, though he was just 1-for-7 from deep and turned the ball over five times in the loss. BYU shot just 18% fro three-point range on the day.Along with TCU and Houston, who advanced on Thursday, five more Big 12 teams are in action on Friday. No. 5 Texas Tech, which has been hampered by the season-ending injury to JT Toppin, takes on a dangerous Akron squad, a No. 12 seed out of the MAC. No. 1 Arizona tips off shortly afterwards, against a fired-up No. 16 Long Island squad that will look toto a historic upset. No. 2 Iowa State tips off around 2:50 p.m. against No. 15 Tennessee State. No. 10 UCF is an underdog in another Big Ten-Big 12 matchup, taking on No. 7 UCLA. No. 4 Kansas is out in San Diego, taking on No. 13 California Baptist during the late night games.Below are all the details available for the seven remaining Big 12 teams’ upcoming games on Friday and Saturday. All times are ET. Big 12 programs are in bold. The fullAJ Dybantsa put points on the board, but BYU was not able to overcome Texas in Thursday’s March Madness first round. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn ImagesTCU scored the biggest win for the Big 12 on Thursday, with its impressive afternoon game against Ohio State, a Big Ten squad that played its way into the field with a strong showing down the stretch of the regular season. The Horned Frogs earned a date with No. 1 overall seed Duke, but should feel pretty confident after The most disappointing loss was the only loss for the Big 12 on Thursday, BYU’s defeat at the hands of Texas. The Cougars had not played well down the stretch, so it wasn’t a terrible surprise to see them bow out of the tournament early. Even so, it is disappointing for the average viewer as well, as we no longer get to see Dybantsa play in the Big Dance.At 2–1, the Big 12 is in the middle of the pack among Power 5 conferences, though it is early and the leagues haven’t truly separated themselves yet. The SEC is off to the best start at 5–1, while the Big Ten is 4–2 and the ACC is at a disappointing 2–3, with two of its teams dropping out in the First Four and North Carolina suffering an upset loss to VCU. The Big East has not yet played a game.Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.
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