The 2024 Big 12 Tournament will run from Tuesday, March 12 through Saturday, March 16 at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. All games will air on ESPN platforms including ESPN+ via their Big XII Network partnership, and the final will be on regular ESPN.
Houston is the favorite to win as the tournament’s top seed. The Cougars rank first overall at KenPom and first in adjusted defensive efficiency, and held opponents to the lowest scoring average in the nation at 56.9 points per game. Iowa State, the No. 2 seed, slowly climbed the ranks this year as they took down ranked opponent after ranked opponent. The 2021 national champion Baylor Bears follow at +750.
The Big XII title could be anyone’s to take this year as the conference is expected to earn more at-large bids than any other league, and there was no single dominating force. Houston lost to Kansas, who lost to Kansas State. Iowa State lost to Kansas State and Oklahoma. It’s been a gauntlet all year, and why as many as nine NCAA bids could be coming to the best league in the country.
Kansas comes in at +1200 after dropping three of their last four games, and BYU could be a dark horse contender at +1400 after wins over Baylor, Kansas, and Iowa State in the regular season. Here are the full odds for the 2024 Big XII Tournament.
2024 Big 12 Tournament odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Houston -135
Iowa State +275
Baylor +750
Kansas +1200
BYU +1400
Texas Tech +2000
Texas +5000
TCU +6500
Oklahoma +10000
Kansas State +30000
UCF +50000
Cincinnati +50000
West Virginia +100000
Oklahoma State +100000
The pick: Iowa State +275
The Big XII has plenty of strong teams, and an event that’s had Kansas lingering over the top of the bracket for nearly a generation is truly wide open this year. Houston finished off the season with a big win over Kansas that should give them plenty of momentum heading into the tournament, but Kansas defeated Houston earlier in the season. Iowa State is another strong contender, but they dropped their final regular season game against Kansas State. The Big XII has more parity than any other conference this season, and thus this tournament will be an unpredictable one.
But I like Iowa State to win it all. The Cyclones have showed that they can hang with the best of the best, and this team finished the regular season strong, going 6-2 in their final eight games. They already have a win over Houston, and they kept Baylor within two in February. And while they don’t go as deep as some other teams, that might have them more prepared in a tournament situation with short benches over three days.
We’ll take the Cyclones, who last won this event in 2019.