Big 12 Basketball: 3 underrated candidates to add in expansion

Most of the conversation around conference realignment at the moment doesn’t surround Big 12 basketball. The first focus in the conference realignment conversation this time around is centered with college football in mind. That’s largely what prompted the move by the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma to make the move from the Big 12 to the SEC, which was brought to the public late last month.

It now seems like a year ago that Texas and Oklahoma first had the news break of the move from the Big 12 to the SEC. Now, the two schools are just waiting and getting through some legal battles that lie ahead to see when each can actually compete in the SEC instead of the Big 12.

Big 12 basketball could take the edge in the conference expansion conversation

This year, the Longhorns and Sooners will obviously still be competing in the Big 12 (for men’s hoops, women’s hoops, football, baseball, etc.). But if Texas and Oklahoma could make it into the SEC by the time the 2022-23 college athletic calendar arrives, that would have to be considered a success for their administration, as well as the SEC as a conference.

What remains in the Big 12 following the move to the SEC for the Longhorns and Sooners are eight schools. Among those eight schools are two of the biggest powers that be in the Big 12 as far as men’s hoops is concerned.

So if the Big 12 were to take a hoops first approach to finding some programs to expand with, who could the conference look into? Here’s a look into three particular underrated potential expansion candidates for the Big 12 purely in terms of the hoops conversation.