Big 12 Basketball: 4 schools the conference should add soon

4) Big 12 Basketball expansion candidates

SMU Mustangs (American Athletic Conference)

A team that makes a lot of sense on a number of fronts for the Big 12 to expand with not only with hoops, but football too, would be the SMU Mustangs. SMU does not get any brownie points on this list for bringing a solid football program to the table too, but it is something worth mentioning in a conversation of this nature.

As far as it’s basketball program is concerned, SMU was pretty competitive of late. Current head coach Tim Jankovich led the Mustangs to a top 25 finish in his first two seasons at the helm, back in the mid-2010’s. SMU peaked during the 2016-17 season, where they finished up with a record of 30-5. That season saw them round up with an AAC Championship (regular season and conference tournament), and the No. 11 spot in the final AP Poll. Although they were ousted in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament in upset fashion by the USC Trojans.

Last season, SMU was a good bet to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years. They registered a 19 win regular season and bring back a lot of talent from last year’s team for this coming season. If the Big 12 were to add SMU, it would be a consistent and potent team to join the mix that is familiar with the level of competition in this conference.

SMU doesn’t bring a whole lot the table in terms of a new recruiting pipeline, since the Big 12 tends to own Dallas as is. But they do bring another solid school to the table and an easy team to schedule with geographically. It would also bring in another natural rival for schools like the TCU Horned Frogs and Baylor.