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NCAA Basketball: Ranking 2019-20 SEC/Big 12 Challenge games

By Brian Rauf

LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greet each other prior to the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 30, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greet each other prior to the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 30, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders reacts during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The SEC/Big 12 Challenge has become one of the great days in NCAA Basketball. Here’s how all 10 of this year’s games stack up against each other.

The SEC/Big 12 Challenge is an annual one-day NCAA Basketball event in late January in which all 10 teams in the Big 12 face off against an opponent from the SEC. Four teams from the SEC do not play in the event and, starting this season, will play four teams from the American to supplement their schedules.

The Challenge has been played every year since the 2013-14 season with the Big 12 holding a 4-1-1 all-time advantage, including a 6-4 victory in last year’s challenge.

This year’s challenge, however, has several matchups that create a high level of intrigue and have excellent storylines.

Kentucky and Kansas usually face off as the headline game of this event, but those two bluebloods will not be going up against each other this year. Kentucky goes on the road to face a Texas Tech team that is fresh off an appearance in the national title game, while Kansas welcomes Tennessee and head coach Rick Barnes to town. Barnes, of course, spent 17 years at Texas and developed a rivalry with Bill Self the Jayhawks.

Texas’ current head coach, Shaka Smart, will host one of his former staff members in LSU and head coach Will Wade, who was with Smart during his tenure at VCU.

There are also battles between projected bubble teams and coaches looking to prove themselves.

With such a loaded slate, which games are the ones you must watch? Here’s how we rank all 10 games in the Challenge.

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