Big 12 announces new ‘innovation’ for conference basketball tournaments

The Big 12 Conference announced new “innovations” for its basketball tournaments this March. You’ll have to look at the floor to see what’s new this year!

“Embracing innovation,” the statement read. “Elevating the game. This is A Different League. The 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments this March at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City will mark the first time ASB Glass Floor LED court technology will be used for official competition in the United States, representing a significant milestone in the modernization of college athletics.”

Safe to say, the Big 12 has been unique on the basketball court and the football field, in addition to other sports, of course. It will be interesting to see if any other conferences follow suit in their basketball tournaments.

On3’s resident bracketology expert, James Fletcher III, broke down the Big 12 going into February. There are plenty of contenders coming out of the Big 12 as we hit the final stretch of the regular season.

“The Big 12 currently has six teams ranked inside the Top 14 spots of the AP Poll,” Fletcher wrote. “Ask around and almost every program there has a real chance to make an NCAA Tournament run and lift the title. That kind of contender depth is rare to find across college basketball, and has set up some marquee matchups over the past month, with more to come in February and March.

“With an undefeated Arizona team leading the way, No. 1 in both KenPom and The NET, the analytics back up the strong case of these Big 12 schools. BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech all join them in the Top 17 of both analytic models.

“Despite that, the Big 12 ranks No. 2 in average NET ranking, with just seven teams in the most recent bracketology update. They also rank third at KenPom, which weighs the value of teams projected to finish above .500 in conference play. The disconnect is simple: a lack of depth. UCF is the only team outside the top tier projected in the field, with Baylor and TCU the only other teams seriously in the bubble conversation.”

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report