![]() From a basketball perspective, three schools stand out as most impacted by being “stuck” in the American: Memphis, Wichita State and Temple. The path forward is less clear for the leagues the Big 12’s expansion teams leave behind-namely the American Conference. Considering some left the Big 12 for dead six weeks ago, these expansions are certainly what I’d call sticking the landing. These numbers also don’t consider that the schools from the new Big 12 should improve by moving into a better conference for recruiting purposes and increasing their budgets thanks to a better TV deal. ![]() Any five-year window will have unique quirks: Texas Tech was better under Chris Beard than the program will likely be in the future, Texas under Shaka Smart was worse than we’d expect Texas to be in a vacuum. The numbers above help paint a clear picture: From a men’s basketball standpoint, the league shouldn’t falter much without Oklahoma and Texas, and the new additions won’t water down the league’s quality. It’s a place made for success in men’s basketball. They’ve won under multiple coaches and in multiple conferences. The Bearcats have been ranked for at least one week during the season in 25 of the last 30 years. 34, squarely in the middle of the eight holdover Big 12 schools. The best program, historically, of the newcomers is Cincinnati. There’s likely a ceiling on just how good this program can be given how the school’s strong religious focus impacts recruiting, but BYU certainly won’t be outclassed at a higher level. Plus, coach Mark Pope is one of the best young coaches in the sport and has led the Cougars to consecutive top 20 KenPom finishes since taking over in Provo. The program has finished outside the top 100 in KenPom just once since 2000 and has been to 12 of the last 20 NCAA tourneys. It invests heavily in the sport: Its men’s hoops budget is higher than half the Pac-12’s, and that’s before the influx of cash that a Big 12 TV deal will provide. And the Big 12’s choices position it well to be as good on the hardwood as it has ever been.īYU, which will join the conference in 2023 (the AAC trio will join no later than ’24), is a consistent contender. Still, the future of the league in men’s basketball rested on these realignment plans.
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