Big 12 Basketball: Ranking the new-look league after 4-team expansion
2. Baylor Bears
The national championship the Bears won this past April wasn’t a fluke but rather the next step of head coach Scott Drew’s amazing rebuild. And once he opted not to take the Indiana job this offseason, that solidified the program’s place as an annual national contender.
Baylor was winning the Big 12 and making postseason runs on the strength of three-star prospects and successful transfer pickups. Now, the recruiting has mirrored the on-the-court success, landing five-star freshman Kendall Brown for the upcoming season and five-star shooting guard prospect Keyonte George in the 2022 class. With the Bears now in the mix for the top regional recruits, they’ll be more likely to win another national title than missing the field of 68 entirely.
1. Kansas Jayhawks
Even with Baylor coming off a national title, Texas Tech and OK State becoming growing threats, and Houston’s massive potential, the Big 12 has, and will be, Kansas to lose. Even in an off-year, the Jayhawks are still making the Sweet 16 and are either winning or just 1-2 games back of the league standings. They can land five-star prospects, top-tier transfers, and 3-4 year impact starters.
Next. 8 candidates for AAC expansion. dark
Still in his early 60’s, head coach Bill Self has plenty of years left to lead the Jayhawks to Final Fours and even national titles. Currently with a top-5 2022 recruiting class, this program is still in top shape and even with the new future competition, will just continue to thrive. But most importantly, we’ll have future games of the Jayhawks traveling to Houston and BYU, which will surely be raucous environments.