The Big 12 will be represented in a third of the opening round of the expanded Players Era Tournament scheduled to begin November 17 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Kansas, Houston and West Virginia will each tip off the tourney’s first matchups when the event returns to the desert next fall.
As reported by Jon Rothstein, the Big 12 will be featured in three of the first four contests on Tuesday, November 17: Houston vs. Rutgers; West Virginia vs. Auburn; Kansas vs. UNLV; Florida vs. Notre Dame. No specific tipoff times are available yet.
As part of this year’s expanded tournament, four Big 12 schools will compete in the “Players Era 8” tournament, named for its eight teams competing separately from the 16 teams competing in the “Players Era 16,” tournament during Thanksgiving week.
That second bracket is slated to include Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU and Texas Tech. The Big 12’s strong presence is a direct result of the league’s investment in the tournament, which moved to Las Vegas from Arlington, Texas, in 2024.
