There is an age-old debate around which basketball conference is the best. The history leans towards the ACC, recency finds favor with the SEC, but the Big 12 has long been known as the conference that Kansas dominates. That is not the case anymore.
Look, in the era of collegiate athletics we live in, the transfer portal and NIL throw the norm of what we used to know into the trash, but for a league that was so long dominated by the Jayhawks, things have quickly changed when four of the top nine recruits from the class of 2025 commit to the Big 12. To further that, make it 14 of the best 25.
Even in the portal, five of the top-30 transfer classes came from the Big 12, all but showing this is not a one-team league.
While several teams start their season’s with what is commonly referred to as a “tune-up” game, select elite programs are sometimes pitted against one another in a season-opening clash of giants and Monday proved no different, as No. 13 Arizona faced the No. 3 Florida Gators in what was a narrow 93-87 win for the Wildcats which saw freshman Koa Peat breakout.
“...You saw one tonight [Arizona vs Florida], a big boy game. Arizona had a freshman go for 30 [Peat,]” quotes Kansas head coach Bill Self.
Peat notched a monster 11-18 rate from the field, along with seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block, and two turnovers, which gave college basketball fans a glimpse of the ability Peat has in his locker.
“....And that also tells you a little bit where our league is. Where was Arizona picked in our league? Fourth, and just beat the defending national champs on a neutral floor. So, our league's gonna be a monster…But these early-season matchups like this are good for our game.”
Self is right, the Wildcats were tabbed as the fourth-best team, which is a scary sight. Kansas was marked as the seventh-ranked team in the Big 12, and their excellent 91-54 win over the Green Bay Phoenix proved they are on a course for revenge.
This Friday, will show another one of those what Self refers to as “big boy games” as Kansas is set to travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to take on the No. 25 UNC Tar Heels. In North Carolina’s opening game, Hubert Davis’ side dismantled Central Arkansas in what was a 94-54 win for the ACC side.
Last season, UNC managed a 23-14 record, which saw the Tar Heels get knocked out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament in what is a microcosm of an up-and-down career for Davis as head coach of UNC.
Davis has seen the peaks of an NCAA National Championship Title game (2022), but has also seen two first-round exits, and one season where UNC did not even make the big dance, and another where UNC made it all the way to the Sweet 16.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPN.
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