Big 12 Basketball: Best non-conference win from each team since 2012

TCU

March 30, 2017. 88-56 win over Georgia Tech.

Although not the highest-ranked win of the past decade, the most important came in the final of the 2017 NIT against Georgia Tech.

TCU finished their best season in the Big 12, with a 19-15 record overall, finishing seventh in the conference standings.

The Horned Frogs missed the NCAA Tournament, but got a taste of postseason action, with the NIT. After surviving upsets from Fresno State and Iowa, TCU throttled Richmond and UCF, on their way to the NIT Finals.

They saved their best performance for last, as the Horned Frogs demolished Georgia Tech, 88-56. All-Big 12 member Kenrich Williams played his most complete game of the season, going for 25 points on 8-14 from the field and 12 assists. Williams assists total alone matched Georgia Techs for the entire 40 minutes.

The cover boy of the Horned Frogs program at the time, Vladimir Brodziansky also had an excellent game, with 18 points to go with six assists.

TCU is known for light non-conference schedules, with their best opponents being bottom-tier SEC programs, during the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. The Horned Frogs have raced out to 12-0 and 13-0 starts, due to playing double-digit Mid-Major programs. The options for non-conference wins for the Horned Frogs are very minimal. However, a postseason championship is one worth of acknowledgment.

Honorable mention: December 9, 2017. 84-80 win over No. 22 Nevada.

West Virginia

December 3, 2016. 66-57 win over No. 6 Virginia.

After reaching as high as No.6 the previous season, the Mountaineers were stunned in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The following season, the Mountaineers brought back a veteran-heavy team, led by elite defender Jevon Carter.

West Virginia took a tough loss to Temple, before their road trip to Charlottesville, to face the Cavaliers. Tony Bennett established dominant defense within the Virginia program and started showing with four games holding an opponent to under 41 points. That would not be the case for West Virginia.

The Mountaineers were able to play Virginia well, knowing they won’t hit many three-pointers. However, it was a multitude of players scoring from inside the arc. West Virginia made 19 two-pointers, with nine different players scoring in the contest.

Even though two mountaineers scored in double figures, it was a knock-down brawl that West Virginia was able to persevere through.

West Virginia would go on to win 28 games, be ranked as high as seventh in the country on three separate occasions, and was four points away from an Elite Eight appearance. The Virginia win showed just how tough the 2016-2017 West Virginia team is, and what the program would be in the future.

Honorable mention: December 29, 2019. 67-59 win over No. 2 Ohio State.