Report: West Virginia-Cincinnati Pair for Future Big 12 Basketball Schedule

As a source told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, West Virginia and Cincinnati will pair up for future Big 12 men’s basketball schedules when the league moves to 14 teams in 2023. Rothstein reported seven matchups that will be protected as the league will move away from a balanced conference schedule.

This pairing guarantees two games, one at each home venue.

New Big 12 MBB Pairings:

Cincinnati / West Virginia

Kansas / Kansas State

Oklahoma / Oklahoma State

Texas / Texas Tech

Baylor / TCU

Houston / UCF

Iowa State / BYU

If true, these matchups are perfect for the new era of Big 12 basketball. Rothstein also reported that the conference will stay at 18-game schedule and is committed to continuing the challenges with the Big East and SEC.

Cincinnati is slowly turning things around as second-year head coach Wes Miller is looking to return the Bearcats to relevancy. After Mick Cronin departed for UCLA, Cincinnati has been trying to find the right person to lead the program. First it was John Brannen, now it’s Miller’s time. Miller coached Cincinnati to an 18-15 record, upsetting Illinois in the process. Miller is one of the fastest up and coming coaches in the country, recording 203 career wins just at the age of 39.

Texas and Oklahoma are still planning on departing the Big 12 Conference for the SEC by July 2025. If both schools don’t pay the early exit fee the Big 12 will have 14 teams from 2023-25. After July 2025, the conference will move to 12 schools. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will enter the conference next July.