2026 Big 12 Conference Basketball Tournament Odds & Predictions
On Tuesday, March 10, we’ll see the start of the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. This is one of the best conferences in college basketball, so there’s a real chance this ends up being a fantastic five days of basketball. Last year, Kelvin Sampson’s Houston team ended up winning this event, and the Cougars are once again one of the best teams in the nation. However, Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona group has been flat-out special throughout the regular season, and the Wildcats deservedly enter this year’s conference tournament as the betting favorite. Kansas, Texas Tech, and Iowa State will also like their chances, setting up for some competitive stuff. Keep reading to see how we’d bet the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
How to Watch the Big 12 Conference Tournament
When: March 10-14
Where: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri
Format: Teams seeded by records within conference; top-eight teams receive first-round byes, top-four teams receive double-byes into quarterfinals
Watch: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+; Championship Game on ESPN on Mar. 14 at 6:00 p.m. ET
College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings
Big 12 Conference Bracket
Coming soon.
Big 12 Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds
- Arizona Wildcats (-105)
- Houston Cougars (+220)
- Kansas Jayhawks (+800)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-1)
- Iowa State Cyclones (+750)
- TCU Horned Frogs (60-1)
- West Virginia Mountaineers (160-1)
- UCF Knights (500-1)
- Cincinnati Bearcats (45-1)
- BYU Cougars (150-1)
- Colorado Buffaloes (500-1)
- Arizona State Sun Devils (600-1)
- Baylor Bears (500-1)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (800-1)
- Kansas State Wildcats (800-1)
- Utah Utes (1000-1)
(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)
Favorite To Win Big 12 Conference Tournament
Arizona enters this tournament with a 29-2 record. This team has already earned victories over top-20 KenPom teams like Florida, UConn, Alabama, Houston, Iowa State, and Kansas this year. This has just been a remarkable season for Lloyd’s group, which is seventh in KenPom’s Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (126.5) and third in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (89.1). The Wildcats are also second in the nation in Effective Field Goal Percentage Defense (44.6%), sixth in Offensive Rebound Rate (38.4%), 24th in Defensive Rebound Rate (28.6%), second in 2PT% defense (43.4%), and 37th in 3PT% defense (31.2). You’d just have to really nitpick in order to find the holes in this team’s statistical profile, and the team has dudes at every position. In the backcourt, Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley have all the firepower and playmaking you can ask for. Koa Peat is a monster at the power forward position. And Motiejus Krivas is one of the best centers in the country, which is wild considering Lloyd also has an awesome big in Tobe Awaka to bring off the bench. Arizona is just an absolute force this season, and this team has the potential to win this tournament and then do the same in the Big Dance.
Big 12 Conference Tournament Darkhorse
If there’s a run to be made for any team outside the Big 12’s top-five groups, I’d keep an eye on Cincinnati. The Bearcats are ninth in the nation when looking at Bart Torvik’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (94.5), so this is a group that can absolutely smother you on the defensive end. Cincinnati plays a physical brand of on-ball defense, forces opponents into a difficult shot diet, and does a good job of defending tough without fouling. Of course, this Bearcats team lost a lot of games this year, with a 17-14 record obviously being a little disappointing. However, Cincinnati also happened to earn wins over Iowa State and Kansas. The Bearcats also had some close losses to other elite teams. They’re just massive in the frontcourt, with Baba Miller and Moustapha Thiam making up one of the most intimidating four-five combos in the nation. And if some of the guards can get hot this week, anything can happen.
Betting Pick to Win the Big 12 Conference Tournament
I think Arizona has a real shot at having a special postseason, but give me Houston to win this tournament. While the Cougars are the No. 2 seed in the conference, I strongly believe that their half of the bracket is far easier than what the Wildcats are dealing with. Houston is also just tremendous on both ends of the floor, ranking fifth in Torvik’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (93.3) and 11th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (125.7). Honestly, if you’re looking at Torvik’s overall numbers, there’s barely anything that separates Arizona and Houston, suggesting there’s some value on the Cougars at the plus-money number.
Houston is just relentless in creating turnovers, ranking No. 2 in the nation in Turnover Rate (12.7%) while also taking good care of the basketball on the other end. On top of that, the Cougars do a good job of defending both 2s and 3s. I’ll also add that this team looks better offensively than most of Sampson’s previous groups. The backcourt of Kingston Flemings, who could be a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Milos Uzan is probably my favorite in the nation — and Emanuel Sharp adds another 15.8 points per game as arguably the third-best guard on the team. Houston also has one of the best wing defenders in college basketball in Joseph Tugler, along with another potential lottery pick in Chris Cenac Jr. holding down the center spot.
Sampson just has everything he needs to make a run here, and I think Houston is one of the most slept on teams when talking about a national champion. So, I’ll grab the Cougars to repeat. If Arizona gets knocked off before the finals, this will look like one hell of a number.
Makinen Power Ratings for Big 12 Conference
Coming soon.
Steve Makinen’s Betting Trends for the Big 12 Conference Tournament
- Teams off an earlier round bye in the Big 12 tournament have gone 23-4 SU & 17-10 ATS (63%) since 2016.
- Mid-level favorites of -4 to -9.5 in the Big 12 bracket have gone 33-13 SU but just 20-26 ATS (43.5%) since 2015.
- Underdogs in the opening round of the Big 12 tourney are on a 10-11 SU and 17-4 ATS (80.9%) surge.
- Big 12 semifinal favorites are on a 19-3 SU and 16-6 ATS (72.7%) run dating back to 2013.
- Totals of 147 or higher have gone 15-9 (62.5%) Under over the last 12 years in the Big 12 tournament, but they were 4-0 Over in 2025.
- The last three Big 12 title games have gone Under the total, with the losing teams scoring a paltry 53.7PPG.
- Teams winning by single-digits in a Big 12 tourney game have gone just 12-32 SU and 16-28 ATS (36.4%) in the follow-up tourney contest since 2016.
More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.
Check out the other previews in our 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.
