The Mark Adamless Red Raiders will open the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship against West Virginia at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. On Monday, Tech announced assistant Corey Williams as interim head coach for this week’s Big 12 Conference Tournament.
The Tech-WVU winner will advance to play No. 3 Kansas which earned the top seed after winning its 21st Big 12 regular season title and an NCAA record 64th all-time. The Jayhawks finished the highly-competitive league race with a 13-5 mark and are 25-6 overall. The Red Raiders went 5-13 in conference play this season following a 71-68 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday night in the regular-season finale. WVU went 7-11 in Big 12 play and is on a two-game winning streak following wins over Iowa State and Kansas State to end the regular season. Tech and WVU split their matchups this season with the road team winning.
Texas claimed the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 Kansas State, No. 4 Baylor, No. 5 Iowa State, and No. 6 TCU. The top six seeds earned a first-round bye and will begin play on Thursday. Wednesday’s first-round matchups feature No. 8 West Virginia vs. No. 9 Texas Tech and No. 7 Oklahoma State against No. 10 Oklahoma.
The Conference will introduce a variety of entertainment and fan experience enhancements for the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. The enhancements include musical acts, merchandise collaborations, VIP appearances, and more. Special performances will include Grammy-nominated Hip-Hop legend Fat Joe as well as NBA Hall-of-Famer and media personality Shaquille O’Neal, under his alias DJ Diesel. Additionally, Grammy-nominated artist Jordin Sparks will perform the national anthem for the men’s title game.
The Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship will be televised nationally on ESPN channels and simulcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. All games will also be available on the ESPN App. College basketball legend Dick Vitale will call the Men’s Championship Game, joined by Kris Budden and Jon Sciambi. Additional ESPN commentators for the Men’s Championship are Fran Fraschilla, Rich Hollenberg, and Chris Spatola.
The Big 12 and ESPN recently announced a series of telecast enhancements for the men’s championship. Throughout the event, ESPN will be granted access to both the locker room and in-game huddles, providing fans with a new degree of “behind-the-scenes” content. ESPN will also have a live studio show throughout the Championship, and SportsCenter will conduct live interviews from Kansas City with Big 12 coaches and student-athletes. Additionally, post-game shows will stream on digital channels and Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Follow Big12Sports.com and the Conference’s social media platforms for additional coverage throughout Championship week.
2023 PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
T-Mobile Center – Kansas City
| Wednesday, March 8 | CT | |
| No. 8 West Virginia vs. No. 9 Texas Tech (ESPN2/U) | 6:00 p.m. | |
| No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (ESPN2/U) | 8:30 p.m. | |
| Thursday, March 9 | ||
| No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 5 Iowa State (ESPN/2) | 11:30 a.m. | |
| No. 1 Kansas vs. Game 1 Winner (ESPN/2) | 2:00 p.m. | |
| No. 2 Texas vs. Game 2 Winner (ESPN/2) | 6:00 p.m. | |
| No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 6 TCU (ESPN/2) | 8:30 p.m. | |
| Friday, March 10 | ||
| Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner (ESPN/2) | 6:00 p.m. | |
| Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN/2) | 8:30 p.m. | |
| Saturday, March 11 | ||
| Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN) | 5:00 p.m. |
