Big 12 Basketball: Examining 9 potential candidates for expansion

Houston

Familiar with some of these Big 12 schools from their days in the Southwest Conference, Houston makes sense for a number of reasons as a new add to the conference. Houston is right there in Texas, helping fill the absence felt by the Longhorns heading to the SEC. Geography aside, the Cougars would fit right into the conference when it came to basketball. They’ve been the best team in the AAC the last few seasons, including a Final Four run this past season.

Houston has been a program that’s produced some fantastic football teams in the past, though it usually stops when those coaches leave for greener pastures. In the Big 12, the Cougars would be a destination, already evident when Dana Holgorsen took over the football program a few seasons ago. Himself a former Big 12 coach, these Cougars could be back near the top of the college football, regardless of what conference they’re in.

There’s no obvious answers to fill the shoes of Oklahoma and Texas, but Houston is about as close as you can come to a home run. We’re not saying Houston football will become the new Oklahoma or that you can expect more Final Four runs imminently from the basketball side of things, but it’s a move that would make sense for a number of reasons, especially with some strong leadership inside that program.