Big 12 Announces Men's CBB Opponents for Entire 2025-26 Schedule
The Big 12 dropped its men's basketball matchups for the 2025-26 season on Thursday as Houston looks to defend its conference crown.
Each team will have 18 Big 12 games on the schedule and three opponents it takes on twice. Fans can follow all of the action on TNT Sports.
Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson has to replace leading scorer L.J. Cryer and leading rebounder J'Wan Roberts, but his team is likely to be the preseason Big 12 favorite.
Guards Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp provide some experience and continuity, while Sampson and his staff assembled the No. 2 class in 247Sports' composite team rankings for 2025. Power forward Chris Cenac Jr., shooting guard Isiah Harwell and point guard Kingston Flemings are all 5-star prospects.
The talent is unquestionably there for Houston to be the last team standing in the Big 12 tournament again.
BYU might be one of the defending champion's biggest threats, and its home matchup with Houston might be the single biggest game on the Big 12 calendar.
The program didn't miss a beat after head coach Mark Pope left for Kentucky, as Kevin Young delivered a 26-10 record and a run to the Sweet 16. Now, expectations are even higher with small forward AJ Dybantsa headlining a strong recruiting class.
Dybantsa is by far the best player BYU has recruited going back to 2000. He's already earmarked as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
"Hype has been gradually been building around AJ Dybantsa's tantalizing combo of 6'9" size, shotmaking, self-creation ability, passing skill and overwhelming athleticism," Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman wrote last November.
"He's a scoring wing in a power forward's body—a mismatch for defenders who struggle to contain his power/length on drives, pro hops that cover incredible ground and release point around the perimeter."
Considering Dybantsa is almost certainly going to be a one-and-done, it's up to Young to make the most of his time in Provo.
Granted, Young probably won't find himself on the hot seat if BYU fails to live up to the hype. The same may not hold true for Kansas' Bill Self despite everything he has achieved in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks exited in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament, and their 21-13 record was their worst of the Self era, the second successive year in which that happened.
Kansas signed Darryn Peterson, the No. 2 player in 247Sports' composite rankings, and added St. Bonaventure guard Melvin Council Jr., Illinois guard Tre White and Loyola guard Jayden Dawson through the transfer portal.
Should the Jayhawks continue to stagnate, it will only lead more fans to wonder whether Self's tenure has run its course.
