BYU Basketball Reportedly Left Out Of 2023 Big East-Big 12 Battle
Apr 5, 2023, 4:38 PM
PROVO, Utah – You won’t see BYU basketball participating in the 2023 Big East-Big 12 Battle. That’s according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
Rothstein reported on Tuesday the matchups for the 2023 battle between two of the best college basketball leagues. Noticeably absent was BYU.
NEWS: Matchups are set for 2023 Big East-Big 12 Battle, per sources.
UConn at Kansas
Texas at Marquette
Houston at Xavier
Villanova at Kansas St
SJU at WVU
Creighton at Oklahoma St
PC at OU
Iowa St at DePaul
TT at Butler
TCU at Georgetown
SHU at Baylorhttps://t.co/hh8DYclOKM— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 5, 2023
The Big East Conference has 11 programs, so it was always known that three of the 14 Big 12 teams would be left out of the battle for the 2023-24 season. Along with BYU, Big 12 newcomers UCF and Cincinnati are on the outside looking in.
The lone Big 12 newcomer to make the cut is Houston, fresh off a season where they were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, the Big East and Big 12 split the 2022 battle 5-5 when the Big 12 only had 10 members.
Per Rothstein’s report, the Big East-Big 12 battle matchups will include national champion UConn traveling to Phog Allen Fieldhouse to take on the 2022 champs, Kansas. Other matchups include Texas taking on former Longhorns head coach Shaka Smart and the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Houston will travel to Xavier, and Elite 8 participant Kansas State hosting Villanova are among the headline games.
The Big 12 Conference has not yet released the 2023-24 basketball schedule. But the expectation is that it will be an 18-game schedule.
BYU basketball gearing up for year one in the Big 12
BYU will continue to piece together its non-conference schedule as it prepares for its first season in the Big 12. The Cougars will host national runner-up San Diego State at the Marriott Center as one of the games.
BYU coach Mark Pope has previously stated that he wants to continue scheduling rival Utah on the non-conference schedule.
The Big 12 Conference produced seven teams to the NCAA Tournament, eight if you count Houston. They finished the 2022-23 season as the number-one rated conference in KenPom’s ratings. It’s the eighth time in the last ten years the Big 12 finished as the top conference in Pomeroy’s metrics.
BYU officially joins the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.
This past season, BYU finished 19-15 overall with no postseason. It was only the third time since 2000 that BYU finished a season not participating in one of the top two postseason tournaments (NCAA, NIT).
Big East-Big 12 Battle games for the 2023 season
*Per a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein
- UConn at Kansas
- Texas at Marquette
- Houston at Xavier
- Villanova at Kansas State
- St. John’s at West Virginia
- Creighton at Oklahoma State
- Providence at Oklahoma
- Iowa State at DePaul
- Texas Tech at Butler
- TCU at Georgetown
- Seton Hall at Baylor
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU moving to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
