Big 12 Basketball: 10 questions looming for the 2021-22 season

Apr 3, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew talks with guard Jared Butler (12) and guard Davion Mitchell (45) and forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (23) and guard Mark Vital (11) during the first half against the Houston Cougars in the national semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

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Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes Big 12 Basketball Kns Vols Georgia Bulldogs Hoops Bp /

9. What are will be some good Big 12/SEC Challenge matchups?

The Big 12/SEC Challenge enters its ninth year and it marks the seventh straight season all 10 games will be played on one day. Big 12 basketball leads the overall series 4-2-2 with victories in 2014-16 and 2019 and ties in 2017 and 2020. What are some matchups to keep an eye on this year? Here’s a look at three:

Baylor Bears at Alabama Crimson Tide

The Baylor Bears will travel to Tuscaloosa where nothing should come easy against Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide is coming off a historic season of their own after taking home the regular season and conference tournament titles in 2020-21.

They’ll certainly give the Bears everything they can handle in what should be a fun defensive matchup for both sides.

In seven meetings against Alabama, the Bears are 1-6. They won their first game of the series when they last faced each other on January 26, 2019. Let’s see if they can get victory number two in this year’s challenge.

Tennessee Volunteers at Texas Longhorns

There’s no better way to welcome Chris Beard to his Longhorns’ job than a matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers and legendary coach Rick Barnes. Both teams have met just six times with the series record being gridlocked at 3-3.

Barnes was also the head coach of the Longhorns from 1998-2014, which should add some more fuel to the fire.

The last meeting between the two teams came on November 11, 2007. Texas won that meeting 97-78 with four different Longhorns scoring 20+ points. Given the defensive pedigree of both coaches in this year’s meeting, expect a much closer result.

Kentucky Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks

All eyes will be in Lawrence, Kansas when the Wildcats visit the Jayhawks in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. It will mark the 33rd meeting between the two squads with Kentucky leading the series 23-10.

While things haven’t exactly gone in the Jayhawks’ favor historically, it’s worth noting, they’ve won four of the last five and seven of the last 11 meetings.

The Jayhawks won last year’s Dec. 20th meeting 65-62 in a game that saw Jalen Wilson go off for 23 points and 10 rebounds. Kansas trailed in the early going but a second-half run, sparked by Wilson, led them to a victory. There should be more fireworks in this year’s meeting.

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