Big 12 Basketball: Pros and cons of recent serious expansion candidates

Arizona

With UCLA and USC heading to the Big Ten in a few years, the future of the Pac-12 looks surprisingly uncertain. Frankly, the conference cannot effectively replace those two schools with any of the possible options, even San Diego State alone could not compare to what the two Los Angeles schools brought to the market. Arizona suddenly begins the big power in basketball, but also a very attractive candidate for the Big 12.

While their football program hasn’t exactly been thriving, it’s clear that the Wildcats would bring a lot to the Big 12 from a basketball perspective. The program has been in incredible shape since Tommy Lloyd took over two seasons ago, highlighted by their recent landing of star transfer Caleb Love. Right now, Arizona looks like the best program in the new-look Pac-12 for years to come and could certainly contend with Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Texas, and the others in a heavy Big 12.

Additionally, the Wildcats bring the Big 12 into another state, changing the Phoenix and Tucson markets into Big 12 markets. There’s the potential that the conference could opt to grab Arizona State as well, but it’s clear that Arizona is the more attractive candidate. The future is bright for the Wildcats; the only negative is that the football program has just 15 wins in the last five seasons.