If you’re like us and you checked today’s college basketball schedule, you may have seen an interesting game on the slate. On Saturday, February 14th at 3:00 PM CT, Baylor clashes with No. 24 Louisville in a neutral-site game in Fort Worth, Texas.
Now you may be wondering, why? If you’re in that party and want to know the answer, we’ve got you covered!
BIG 12 BYE WEEKS
Interestingly enough, there’s been a lot of flexibility in the past few years with the Big 12 men’s basketball schedule. With the season at 20 conference games last year, Big 12 teams didn’t get a mid-season bye week. Now that the schedule is back to 18 games, the league has added a week off for each member.
Initially, Baylor and Louisville agreed on a neutral site game in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The opportunity allowed for two incredibly storied programs to clash in an elite matchup. Primarily, this is a game that would’ve been played in December or January, but Big 12 schedule makers worked the bye week schedule in order for Baylor to take on Louisville mid-season during their Big 12 bye week.
Many other programs have already had their bye week; for example, Kansas had the week off after playing Kansas State on January 24th, Arizona had theirs after taking down Arizona State on January 31st, and BYU had theirs after their loss to No. 15 Texas Tech on January 17th. It just so happens that during Baylor’s bye week, the schedule makers set it up so that the Bears could tangle with No. 24 Louisville and not have any lapses in conference play.
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BEARS
Now, that brings a big task. It’s an opportunity for a struggling Bears team to add a massive win to their resume, especially with the group needing every bit of respect possible to earn a spot in the Big Dance. Though it is a neutral site contest, Baylor has an opportunity to earn a Quad 1 win if they can take down Pat Kelsey’s group. They are currently off the bubble, and this would be a big one to get them back into the picture.
Today’s game tips off at 3:00 PM Central.
