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

Oklahoma State

We already know that Oklahoma is departing the Big 12 for the SEC and that rival Oklahoma State is not coming with them. The Cowboys have been a very solid athletics program, with success in both football and basketball in recent memory, but are suddenly left without their bitter rivals. This particular school’s decision is much like the previous one, except it’s not a hypothetical. If the SEC isn’t interested and the Big 12 crumbles, the Pac-12 is a no-brainer for Oklahoma State.

Recent top draft pick Cade Cunningham played well at Oklahoma State, but this program has struggled at times in the tough Big 12. That being said, this is still a very good basketball program that has had some highs in recent memory, including a Final Four nearly twenty years ago. There’s no guarantee that the basketball program is going to turn into a national powerhouse again, but the door is certainly open in a weaker league.

We don’t know exactly what a new-look Pac-12 would look like, but it would probably be a weaker basketball league top to bottom than the current Big 12. That being said, Oklahoma State would still be a great get for the Pac-12. Since geography clearly doesn’t matter, the Sooners would also become the new easternmost part of the league, and it never hurts to get the conference into a new state and market.