The Big 12 released their first ever Matrix Schedule on Thursday. Each school will play three teams in a home and away setting while they will host six stand alone home conference games and be on the road for six stand alone away games.
In this new format, there is supposed to be competitive as well as travel balance, if at all possible. There’s no perfect way to balance a schedule, but this will at least be an intriguing setup for the upcoming season. All dates and times for these games will be announced at a future time.
Let’s take a look at a couple of the top matchups that will feature each team hosting a game on their home court this season plus some rivalries that will be preserved.
Kansas vs. Iowa State
These two teams always battle and when it comes to home court advantage there may not be two better places in the country, let alone Big 12 conference.
Hilton Coliseum has always been, but even more so lately, a huge home court advantage for Iowa State. Their fans are always on top of the opposing teams, and referees, and will make things uncomfortable for everyone. The sign of a passionate fanbase.
There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said about Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. It is the Mecca of college basketball. It is the most iconic venue in the sport. It doesn’t get much better than college basketball in “The Phog”. Kansas will always have a huge advantage when playing at home.
Having both of these schools get a home game in this series makes a ton of sense competitively and regionally. These games will likely be featured games during conference play as well.
Arizona vs. Houston
This is a series between new bloods of the Big 12. Arizona and Houston of both asserted themselves as dominant teams in the Big 12 conference and it makes sense to put these two teams together in a home and away series.
Arizona is coming off a Big 12 regular season and tournament title while Houston was the Big 12’s top team the prior year. Arizona’s season ended in the Final Four to the eventual champion, Michigan. The previous year Houston’s season ended in a heart breaking loss in the National Championship.
These two teams represent the Big 12 very well and should be considered contenders until further notice.
BYU vs. Utah
It’s nice to see the Holy War get a home and home series. It would have been a travesty if it wasn’t, honestly. With the landscape of college sports these days, you can’t take any rivalry for granted anymore.
Sure, Utah had a terrible season last year, but BYU was nationally relevant and a top 25 team all season. BYU is expected to be very good again this year with another top prospect named Bruce Branch. If Utah can be a little bit competitive, this series has the chance to get some prime time love.
There are a couple of other interesting notes to come out of the schedule announcement that stood out. Kansas got the short end of the straw and is slated to play on the road against Arizona and Houston, the projected top two teams in the conference.
It is nice the Jayhawks will get a home and home with longtime rival Kansas State. As discussed above, KU and Iowa State getting the home and home is huge. It is disappointing Kansas won’t get a home and home with Oklahoma State. That rivalry dates back prior to the Big 12 and back into the Big 8 days.
The conference should have protected Kansas State and Iowa State playing a home and home series. Sure, the basketball rivalry isn’t as intense as the football rivalry with Farmageddon, but these two schools, like Kansas and Oklahoma State, have been long-time rivals.
Moving forward, the old Big 8 rivals should be protected. The Big 12 should always schedule Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State as home and home matchups. Texas Tech and Baylor should also be a protected rivalry home and home series each year. Unfortunately that is not the case and Texas Tech will host Baylor this year for their lone game for the 2026-2027 season. Utah and BYU should be protected. Arizona and Arizona State should be protected. You could make a case for Texas Tech and TCU, which has been a nice rivalry of late. I would even say adding Arizona and Houston every year, with how solid both of those programs have been since joining the Big 12, would be appropriate. Anything else on the schedule should be up for grabs each year.
Here is the full slate of matchups as presented by the Big 12:
