Yup it's Houston…. Huge gap everyone else. Houston has fully embraced the get old stay old narrative that so many on here think is impossible. Couple that with a coach who gets 100% from his players every night and this is the end result.

BYU averaged 82 ppg this year. Only twice were they held in the 50s. Both games? Houston.

Why is the Arizona v Tech game delayed?

Tech shooting 71% from 3 in the 1st half tonight and leading 22-19.

Speaking of injuries, I always forget Arizona has basically played the majority of its season without its equivalent to Josh O. Motiejus Krivas, their 7-2 starting center, was injured and out for the year after the 8th game.

Toppin runs off the court to grab a garbage can and puke his guts out. Not something you see every day.

Toppin's departure affecting Tech's shooting. No top of the key screens from Toppin so the guards are having to force the shots and are now missing. Toppin was one of the best screeners (is that a word?) in the Big 12 this year.

Playing without 2 starters (their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers) Tech is keeping it close but I have a feeling Arizona is eventually gonna wear them down in the 2nd half.

Update at 8:00 min mark of the 1st half.

Better. pic.twitter.com/KMoAq4eeLR

— Heartland College Sports (@Heartland_CS) March 14, 2025

Not Big 12.. but I turned my TV on and was greeted by Gus Johnson screaming so I had to stick with it.

UConn vs Creighton...both have chance to be our next opponent.

Doubtful it's UConn, they try avoiding rematches early on

Well I didn't have Gregg Mc Dermott and asst coach Luke Murray (Bill Murrays son) getting in a shouting match and a major scrum breaking out at buzzer on my bingo card..

People throwing things on court.

What caused it? Been watching the Bama game

IowaBear said:

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What caused it? Been watching the Bama game

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Dunk and flex on rim up 10 or so with 1.5 seconds left by Creighton

Coach Bill Self in his postgame press conference:

“What can I say? They manhandled us. I’m not sure what we have to do to get our guys to play like they do.

Maybe we don’t have the culture they do”

WOW😳 pic.twitter.com/A7bB4Dpm8x

— Dr. Jimmy Lynch, MD (@AZWildcat26) March 14, 2025

ASU won Big 12 football in their first year in the conference. Now in basketball we have two teams competing for the championship who are also newest members of the conference. Yikes. Pretty embarrassing.

UH favored by 6.5

Maybe they were just strong additions..and not dead weight...

What do they say...'a rising tide lifts all boats'..or something like that...

Kelvin Sampson told reporters postgame that Houston’s J’Wan Roberts (ankle) is expected to sit out Saturday’s Big 12 Tournament title game. https://t.co/5AX4UcK7YU

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 15, 2025

Stefano DiMera said:

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Maybe they were just strong additions..and not dead weight...

What do they say...'a rising tide lifts all boats'..or something like that...

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They were, but Alice is right it's not a good look. Az by their own admission was supposed to have a down year and yet here they are.

Sampson is running hyper disciplined system ball and not losing more than a few games.. Self and Drew need to step it way up.

Now for football, hopefully they take back control next fall now that Aranda knows winning games is the priority

UH and AZ combined 3-17 shooting to start the game.

Interesting camera angles will be forthcoming because Kipp Kissinger is wearing a Monkeycam.

UH hanging tougher inside without Roberts so far than I thought they would.

When you look at UH's roster and see the continuity and the structure, it explains a lot of their success. Kelvin and his staff are obviously very good at identifying the type of player who fits their system, and then figure out a way to keep them happy and away from transferring. This has also allowed them to pass on some 1 year transfers and focus on 2 year or more guys.


Roberts (not playing tonight; usual starter) - Recruited by UH; been in their system 5 years
Sharp - Recruited by UH; been in their system 3 years
Tugler -- Recruited by UH and been in their system 2 years
Cryer -- Transferred to UH, been in their system 2 years
Uzan - Transferred to UH, 1st year in their system but has another year to go so they knew he had 2 years
Arceneaux -Recruited to UH; been in their system 3 years
Wilson - Transferred to UH; been in their system 2 years
Francis - Recruited to UH; been in their system 4 years

Aliceinbubbleland said:

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ASU won Big 12 football in their first year in the conference. Now in basketball we have two teams competing for the championship who are also newest members of the conference. Yikes. Pretty embarrassing.

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Regardless of what happens today, it's time to give Houston its props. They run the Big 12.

They're clearly benefiting from the decline of legacy Big 12 programs like us and Kansas, but two Big 12 titles in two years is what it is.

Kelvin Sampson and his program are the current gold standard of our league.

Stefano DiMera said:

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Maybe they were just strong additions..and not dead weight...

What do they say...'a rising tide lifts all boats'..or something like that...

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It's also a case in both football and basketball of the programs that had been the class of our league (Oklahoma State, TCU and us in football and Kansas and us in basketball) going through decline trends. It happens.

Arizona State and Houston caught the Big 12 at the right time.

But credit to them. Winning championships isn't easy.

Aliceinbubbleland said:

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ASU won Big 12 football in their first year in the conference. Now in basketball we have two teams competing for the championship who are also newest members of the conference. Yikes. Pretty embarrassing.

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Point made but technically houston is not one of the "newest" members. They joined the Big 12 a year before Arizona.

The flip side is that the conference chose good schools when adding. Both Houston & Arizona could make the Final Four.

bear2be2 said:

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Aliceinbubbleland said:

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ASU won Big 12 football in their first year in the conference. Now in basketball we have two teams competing for the championship who are also newest members of the conference. Yikes. Pretty embarrassing.

---

Regardless of what happens today, it's time to give Houston its props. They run the Big 12.

They're clearly benefiting from the decline of legacy Big 12 programs like us and Kansas, but two Big 12 titles in two years is what it is.

Kelvin Sampson and his program are the current gold standard of our league.

---

And 4 Final Four appearances in 4 years.

Those folks in the state of Kansas have to be concerned. They didn't like it when we started challenging the throne they believe they deserve after cruising to so many titles, but UH has basically come in and just blown the top off in a dominating fashion for their first two years and with the recruiting class they have it appears they could continue into the future. The relationship between Self and the fan base is gonna be an interesting watch going forward if that gap doesn't close quickly.

Big12Fan2024 said:

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When you look at UH's roster and see the continuity and the structure, it explains a lot of their success. Kelvin and his staff are obviously very good at identifying the type of player who fits their system, and then figure out a way to keep them happy and away from transferring. This has also allowed them to pass on some 1 year transfers and focus on 2 year or more guys.


Roberts (not playing tonight; usual starter) - Recruited by UH; been in their system 5 years
Sharp - Recruited by UH; been in their system 3 years
Tugler -- Recruited by UH and been in their system 2 years
Cryer -- Transferred to UH, been in their system 2 years
Uzan - Transferred to UH, 1st year in their system but has another year to go so they knew he had 2 years
Arceneaux -Recruited to UH; been in their system 3 years
Wilson - Transferred to UH; been in their system 2 years
Francis - Recruited to UH; been in their system 4 years

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I was wondering about this info. Thanks for putting it together! It seems like some of those guys have been at UH forever.

historian said:

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bear2be2 said:

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Aliceinbubbleland said:

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ASU won Big 12 football in their first year in the conference. Now in basketball we have two teams competing for the championship who are also newest members of the conference. Yikes. Pretty embarrassing.

---

Regardless of what happens today, it's time to give Houston its props. They run the Big 12.

They're clearly benefiting from the decline of legacy Big 12 programs like us and Kansas, but two Big 12 titles in two years is what it is.

Kelvin Sampson and his program are the current gold standard of our league.

---

And 4 Final Four appearances in 4 years.

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Not quite. But four straight trips to at least the Sweet 16 with a Final Four and an Elite Eight appearance in there.

Big12Fan2024 said:

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Those folks in the state of Kansas have to be concerned. They didn't like it when we started challenging the throne they believe they deserve after cruising to so many titles, but UH has basically come in and just blown the top off in a dominating fashion for their first two years and with the recruiting class they have it appears they could continue into the future. The relationship between Self and the fan base is gonna be an interesting watch going forward if that gap doesn't close quickly.

---

Kansas would be stupid to run off Self. But he, like Drew, has a stale program currently.

If something doesn't change, KU -- like us -- will wallow in that top 20-25 limbo, consistently ending seasons in the Round of 32 with teams that aren't good enough to go deeper.

The Big 12 had 4 teams in the Final Four, four times in a row:

2018 Kansas
2019 Tech made it to the championship game & lost in OT
2020 COVID
2021 Baylor natty
2022 Kansas natty

That's 4 times in a row. Postseason was cancelled in 2020.

Since joining the Big 12, Houston has an overall record of 39-5 against conference opponents. https://t.co/82PFS0N7mp

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 16, 2025

I have nothing against Kansas City and think it’s a dope spot..

but the Big12 Tournament HAS to move to more of a “destination” location.

SEC having theirs in Nash is such a cheat code this year.

Why don’t we try Orlando, DFW, f*ck it.. Denver? it’s just.. what’s in KC??!! pic.twitter.com/3CP3CHFrxo

— Sherman Young Jr. (@ShermStu_2) March 15, 2025

When Kansas was in the final every year it made tons of sense. If I recall correctly Dallas was a bust for attendance. I'm not sure Denver would be any better. The conference being spread out the way it is without a lot of traditional rilvaries makes it tough. How many are going to go from UCF or Arizona to KC. Baylor, TCU, Tech never bring a ton of fans. I'm not sure what the answer is other than maybe rotating sites so it's novel. Maybe Phoenix as you can turn into a spring training trip as well? U of A would be like Kansas in Phoenix with a huge population of fans there. Nashville for SEC is a perfect spot.