Watch out for March 15th. Also keep an eye out for the first week of March in Kansas City.
The Big 12 women’s tournament plays out with the same straightforward bargain every league game offers: Win three games if you earn a double bye, four or five if you don’t, and you’ll have hardware and a new line on your resume on the March Madness field. Lose once and you’re back to committee math and hoping your season sticks under the fluorescent lights.
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How to watch the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship
Where: T-Mobile Center—Kansas City, MO
Dates: March 4-8
TV: ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN
Streaming: Fubo (Stream for free now!)
See it in person? Get your tickets on StubHub.
All ESPN networks are also available to watch on ESPN Unlimited.
TCU enters as a No. 1 seed and defending champion, which makes the mission clear: Survive long enough to prove last year wasn’t a one-off. Olivia Myers is the engine now, a defender who can turn a half-second lapse in concentration into a clean look, a bent defense or both. She was just named conference player of the year and freshman of the year.
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West Virginia is the No. 2 seed — led by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Harrison — Baylor is No. 3 and Oklahoma State is No. 4. The top four get a luxury every tournament team wants, which is a bye to Friday’s quarterfinals. In other words, they see chaos before they are exposed to it.
Around the middle, this thing starts to feel like a bar fight that no one planned. Texas Tech (No. 5), Colorado (No. 6), Iowa State (No. 7) and Utah State (No. 8) open Thursday. With star centers Audie Crooks and Addie Brown returning to the lineup, the Cyclones are a team to watch throughout the tournament.
But this entire group was enough to destroy the top seed’s weekend before the team had time to develop its own theories. These teams didn’t come to Kansas City to make the semifinals interesting. They came among them.
Wednesday was pure survival and, for some, getting out of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Brigham Young University (No. 9) and Arizona State University (No. 10) were the “best” in the first round of questions. Kansas (No. 11) and Kansas State (No. 12) follow. Cincinnati (No. 13), University of Central Florida (No. 14), Arizona State (No. 15) and Houston (No. 16) are just trying to collect a few things before the bracket warms up. Each of them plays a game and makes math harder for others.
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One thing worth knowing: If BYU reaches the championship game, the final will be moved to Monday. One more day of rest, one more day of preparation. In a game that was already running on a tight clock and tired legs, this wasn’t a scheduling footnote. That’s a variable.
match schedule
All times are Eastern Time. Conference tournament seedings are also listed.
Wednesday, March 4 – first round
Broadcasting company: ESPN+
Game 1: No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 13 Cincinnati, noon
Game 2: No. 9 BYU vs. No. 16 Houston, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 15 Arizona State, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 14 UCF, 9 p.m.
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Thursday, March 5 – Round 2
Broadcasting company: ESPN+
Game 5: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. Game 1 winner, noon
Game 6: No. 8 Utah vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 7 Iowa vs. Game 3 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 6 Colorado vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.
Friday, March 6 – quarter-finals
Broadcasting company: ESPN+ and ESPNU
Game 9: No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. Game 5 winner, noon (ESPNU)
Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. Game 6 winner, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 11: No. 2 West Virginia vs. Game 7 winner, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 12: No. 3 Baylor vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, March 7 – semifinals
Broadcasting company: ESPN+
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 4 p.m.
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Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8 – Championship
Broadcasting company: ESPN
Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 5 p.m.
Note: If BYU advances to the championship, the game will be played on Monday, March 9 at 4 p.m.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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