If you thought the previous and most recent iteration of the Big 12 we saw in the 2023-24 season was a gauntlet — with Houston and BYU among the teams joining the conference last season — then you’ll be thrilled about the competitive chaos that lies ahead for the conference this season.
While Texas and Oklahoma have moved to the SEC, the Big 12 has added former Pac-12 members Arizona, Colorado, Arizona State and Utah, and in the process remade itself into a 16-team conference that should carry on its standing as the most formidable league in college basketball. From top to bottom, it has rated first in KenPom.com’s conference ratings of all 32 leagues three years running — and that isn’t likely to change this season.
That reputation as the king of conferences has been bolstered by its depth, but the top end of the league has more than carried its weight, too. And this year figures to be no different.
Here’s how our experts see the season shaking out in the Big 12 — with our preseason predictions for order of finish and Player of the Year all in the space below.
Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas | C | Gr.
Entering his fifth and final season, Dickinson is the face of a Kansas team that could start the season ranked No. 1 and will be the favorite to win the Big 12. The 7-foot-2 super senior is the leading returning scorer and rebounder in the Big 12, and he is in rarefied air as the first Big 12 player in a decade to return after averaging a double-double in points and rebounds — last done by Rico Gathers. Dickinson averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game last season for the Jayhawks and had his best rebounding season of his college career with a career-best 27.5% defensive rebounding rate that ranked 15th in college basketball.
Four more players to watch
Tamin Lipsey | PG | Iowa State: Keshon Gilbert is Iowa State’s leading returning scorer, but Tamin Lipsey is the true heart and soul of this formidable — and dare I say, fearsome — Cyclones team. Lipsey is a bulldog at the point of ISU’s defensive attack and a proponent of the “sharing is caring” mantra. He averaged a team-high 4.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game last season and has room to grow to build off a breakout All-Big 12 campaign from last season.
Zeke Mayo | PG | Kansas: Mayo is a Lawrence, Kansas, native who spent the last three seasons at South Dakota State before returning home to play for his hometown Jayhawks. Mayo was the Summit League Player of the Year last season and averaged 18.8 points and 3.5 assists per game for SDSU, and now he joins a KU team in need of stability in the backcourt. We’ll see how this team’s backcourt shakes out, but Mayo will be a condiment — er, a compliment — to the most talented team in the Big 12.
LJ Cryer | SG | Houston: The keys to the Houston kingdom are Cryer’s this season with Jamal Shead off the NBA. Cryer led the Cougars in scoring at 15.5 points per game last season but should be entrusted with an even bigger role this year.
Jeremy Roach | PG | Baylor: Roach transferred from Duke to Baylor this offseason and in the process gave Scott Drew’s Bears one of the most versatile and experienced guards to run the show in all of college hoops land. He’s been somewhere between a point guard and shooting guard in college but told Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman that he’ll return to his roots as a true point this season in Waco, Texas.
Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year
V.J. Edgecombe | G | Baylor
Edgecombe ranked as the No. 5 overall recruit in 247Sports’ final recruiting rankings for the cycle. But in my unofficial rankings of the most electric prospects of the class — accounting for athleticism and pure watchability — Edgecombe ranks No. 1. He’s a twitchy athlete who can finish above the rim and get his own bucket with shades of Zach LaVine weaved in his game and playing style. Baylor does a great job of sharing the ball and facilitating a balanced offensive ecosystem, which should help Edgecombe — a natural aggressor on the offensive end — flourish as a freshman.
