Pac-12 Basketball: 10 potential candidates for expansion after losing USC and UCLA

BYU

We’ve already mentioned the moves the Big 12 made to shore up the conference with Oklahoma and Texas departing, getting the conference back up to 12 teams. If that’s the case, and the Cougars have an avenue to join the Big 12, then why would they head to the Pac-12 instead? Why didn’t the Pac-12 add them previously when the time was right?

From a basketball perspective, the move makes a ton of sense, as BYU has played in the NCAA Tournament eleven times in the last twenty years and have been ranked in the AP Top 25 each of the last three seasons. Head coach Mark Pope has this program heading in a fantastic direction and will have the Cougars legitimately competitive in the Big 12 (or Pac-12) in the years to come.

There’s one reason why BYU could be a potential addition for the Pac-12. The way things are going, it’s very possible that leagues like the Big Ten and SEC turn into these super-conferences, with two dozen or more members in both of them. At that point, it’s all about whether the Big 12 or Pac-12 would last longer, and both of them have been dealt quite a blow with two of their flagship programs leaving both conferences. Geographically, BYU makes much more sense in the Pac-12, but with the Los Angeles schools in the Big Ten, maybe that doesn’t even matter anymore.