Big 12 Basketball: 3 schools that should be added with Gonzaga

Arizona

Current conference: PAC-12

There’s already an idea circulating various media and fan circles in the college sports landscape that the Big 12 could poach at least a few schools from the PAC-12.

And now with the new Big 12 media rights deal in place, it looks like the Big 12 has a leg up on the PAC-12 and maybe even the ACC in terms of the next round of the conference expansion conversation.

But the PAC-12 is the conference that I believe is in real trouble at this point. The PAC-12 already lost the likes of the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins to the Big Ten, which will officially go into effect in 2024.

There are also some rumors circulating that the PAC-12 could lose the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies in the near future.

However, the two schools that I believe could be a nice fit in the Big 12 are the two major Arizona schools. The Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils could both be natural geographic fits at this point in the Big 12. It would also continue the expansion out west for the Big 12 after adding the BYU Cougars, which will officially take effect next year.

If we’re having this conversation from a basketball-first perspective, though, the PAC-12 school that could be the most valuable to the Big 12 is Arizona.

As one of the most prestigious college hoops programs in the country, Arizona would take the competitiveness and recruiting prowess in the Big 12 to another level. This Arizona program has proved that it can sustain success essentially at the highest level.

And it would be very interesting to have two schools out west added to the Big 12 that are as good in basketball as both Gonzaga and Arizona.