Baylor enters Big 12 play facing one of the nation’s toughest slates, with a brutal conference schedule that will test the Bears from start to finish.

The nation’s second-leading scorer, Dybantsa was coming off perhaps the best performance of his young career, when he scored 33 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Eastern Washington.

Kansas basketball’s first Big 12 Conference game of the season is Saturday on the road at UCF. Here are a few things to think about ahead of tip-off.

The top-ranked Arizona Wildcats basketball program beat the Utah Utes by a score of 97-78 in Salt Lake City on Jan. 3, 2026.

The only Big 12 team outside those parameters was Utah, which visits the CU Events Center on Wednesday for the Buffs’ first Big 12 home game. Which also invites the prospect of a positive start in conference play if the Buffs can steal a win at ASU.

Utah opens daunting conference season against top-ranked Wildcats, as the challenge of competing in the ballyhooed league tips off.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tcu as TCU Starts Big 12 Play by Flipping the Script on Baylor. TCU men's basketball made a statement in their first Big 12 game of the season. The Frogs beat Baylor 69-63 behind strong defense to go to 1-0 in conference play this year.

Brett Yormark is happy to see parity in the Big 12, but knows the league needs teams like Texas Tech to become an "outlier" in the conference.

The state of Utah’s two teams in the Big 12 face very difficult openers. BYU (12-1) begins conference play Saturday at Kansas State (9-4), while Utah plays host to Arizona (13-0) at the Huntsman Center.

In a game that went down to the wire, the Jayhawks played the final 10 minutes without star guard Darryn Peterson, who coach Bill Self said postgame was on a minutes restriction. Self also seemed to indicate Peterson, who has suffered through various leg ailments, may have been dealing with cramping again down the stretch.

Here's how Cincinnati Bearcats basketball can win their Big 12 opener at Fifth Third Arena over Houston's Cougars