Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, players discuss Arizona State loss
Check out everything Kansas basketball coach Bill Self had to say Tuesday following a Big 12 Conference loss on the road against Arizona State.
Two-hundred-fifty-six Big 12 Tournament scenarios remain when entering the final weekend of the regular season.
After UCF travels to West Virginia on Friday night, the remaining 14 teams will take the floor on Saturday, ahead of next week’s tournament, which will be held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, from March 10-14.
Three of the 16 teams are already locked into their seeds entering the final day, including regular-season champion Arizona, which claimed the top spot. Every seed between No. 2-14 is still up for grabs, while Kansas State is locked into No. 15 and Utah is last at No. 16. Several byes and double-byes are still up for grabs.
A tip of the hat to Matt Hackman and his popular X account, which lays out all the scenarios for some of the top conference tournaments each year, for the help with this article.
Big 12 schedule for Saturday, March 6-7
Friday, March 6
- 7 p.m. — UCF @ West Virginia
Saturday, March 7
- 11 a.m. — Houston @ Oklahoma State (CBS)
- 1 p.m. — Kansas State @ Kansas (CBS)
- 1 p.m. — Cincinnati @ TCU (TNT, truTV)
- 1 p.m. — Arizona State @ Iowa State (FS1)
- 4 p.m. — Utah @ Baylor (Peacock)
- 9:30 p.m. — Texas Tech @ BYU (ESPN)
- 10 p.m. — Arizona @ Colorado (ESPN2)
All times are CST
Arizona
The Wildcats are in the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed and league champion. They will play on March 12 at 2 p.m. against the winner of the March 11 matchup between the No. 8 seed and the March 10 winner between No. 9 TBD and No. 16 Utah.
Houston
The Cougars clinched a double-bye and will be either the No. 2 or 3 seed. They’ll get the two with a win or a loss by Texas Tech.
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders are locked into a double-bye and can be anywhere from a two to a four seed. They need a win and a Houston loss for the two. They can’t finish any lower than third if they win. A loss and a Kansas win would drop them to fourth.
Kansas
The Jayhawks are still fighting for a double-bye, though they would clinch one with a win over Kansas State. A third-place finish is still possible with a win and a Texas Tech loss. Dropping to fifth is possible if they lose to K-State and Iowa State beats Arizona State. If both KU and Iowa State both lose, the Jayhawks are the four.
Iowa State
The Cyclones need help from Kansas State to get the double-bye, but they can’t finish any lower than sixth.
TCU
The Horned Frogs earned a bye, but can’t get a double-bye. They can still finish anywhere between No. 5 and 8.
UCF
The Knights don’t have a double-bye clinched and can finish anywhere between sixth and ninth. A win guarantees a sixth- or seventh-place finish, but a loss drops them to eighth or ninth. A ninth-place finish would require a loss and a Cincinnati win over TCU.
Cincinnati
The Bearcats can finish anywhere from sixth to ninth. A win guarantees them a bye, and they could even earn one if they lose. A loss, combined with finishing in a three-way tie with West Virginia and UCF, would drop the Bearcats to ninth because of tiebreakers.
West Virginia
The Mountaineers can finish anywhere between seventh and 10th. A win guarantees them a bye, while a loss would guarantee them ninth or 10th place.
BYU
The Cougars can’t get a bye and are locked into either the nine- or 10-seed.
Colorado
The Buffaloes can’t get a bye and are locked into the 11- or 12-seed.
Arizona State
The Sun Devils can’t get a bye and are locked into the 11- or 12-seed.
Baylor
The Bears can’t get a bye and are locked into the 13- or 14-seed.
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys can’t get a bye and are locked into the 13- or 14-seed.
Kansas State
The Wildcats are locked into the No. 15 seed and will play the No. 10 seed on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Utah
The Utes are locked into the No. 16 seed and will play the No. 9 seed on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
When is Big 12 basketball tournament 2026?
- Dates: March 10-14
- Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Big 12 Basketball Tournament Schedule
All times are CT
First round: Tuesday, March 10
- Game 1: No. 12 vs. No. 13 — 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
- Game 2: No. 9 vs. No. 16 Utah — 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Game 3: No. 10 vs. No. 15 Kansas State — 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Game 4: No. 11 vs. No. 14 — 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Second round: Wednesday, March 11
- Game 5: No. 5 vs. Game 1 winner — 11:30 a.m. (ESPN/2)
- Game 6: No. 8 vs. Game 2 winner — 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Game 7: No. 7 vs. Game 3 winner — 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Game 8: No. 6 vs. Game 4 winner — 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 12
- Game 9: No. 4 vs. Game 5 winner — 11:30 a.m. (ESPN/2)
- Game 10: No. 1 Arizona vs. Game 6 winner — 2 p.m. (ESPN/2)
- Game 11: No. 2 vs. Game 7 winner — 6 p.m. (ESPN/2)
- Game 12: No. 3 vs. Game 8 winner — 8:30 p.m. (ESPN/2)
Semifinals: Friday, March 13
- Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner — 6 p.m. (ESPN/2)
- Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner — 8:30 p.m. (ESPN/2)
Championship: Saturday, March 14
- Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner — 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
