# 2020–21 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 Big 12 men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Regular season conference play began in December 2020 and concluded in March 2021. The Big 12 tournament was held from March 11–14, 2021 and was played at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Baylor won their first ever National Championship, becoming the first Big 12 team to win the National Championship since Kansas in 2008.

## Coaches
### Coaching changes

There were no head coaching changes following the 2019–20 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season.

### Head coaches

Note: Stats are through the beginning of the season. All stats and records are from time at current school only.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | Big 12 record | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Baylor | Scott Drew | Valparaiso | 17th | 342–213 (.616) | 140–150 (.483) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa State | Steve Prohm | Murray State | 6th | 95–73 (.565) | 40–50 (.444) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Kansas | Bill Self | Illinois | 18th | 501–109 (.821) | 236–53 (.817) | 16 | 3 | 1 |
| Kansas State | Bruce Weber | Illinois | 9th | 161–110 (.594) | 72–72 (.500) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | Lon Kruger | UNLV | 10th | 179–117 (.605) | 81–81 (.500) | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Oklahoma State | Mike Boynton | Oklahoma State (asst.) | 4th | 51–49 (.510) | 20–34 (.370) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TCU | Jamie Dixon | Pittsburgh | 5th | 84–57 (.596) | 29–43 (.403) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas | Shaka Smart | VCU | 6th | 90–78 (.536) | 40–50 (.444) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas Tech | Chris Beard | Little Rock | 5th | 94–44 (.681) | 40–32 (.556) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| West Virginia | Bob Huggins | Kansas State | 14th | 289–158 (.647) | 127–102 (.555) | 9 | 1 | 0 |

## Preseason
### Recruiting classes

Rankings :
| Team | ESPN | Rivals | Scout/247 Sports | Signees |
| Baylor | No. 22 | No. 42 | No. 28 | 3 |
| Iowa State | No. 18 | No. 37 | No. 29 | 4 |
| Kansas | No. 25 | No. 17 | No. 22 | 4 |
| Kansas State | - | No. 19 | No. 35 | 7 |
| Oklahoma | - | No. 86 | No. 85 | 2 |
| Oklahoma State | No.8 | No. 4 | No. 13 | 6 |
| TCU | - | No. 66 | No. 52 | 3 |
| Texas | - | No. 57 | No. 96 | 1 |
| Texas Tech | No. 14 | No. 10 | No. 10 | 5 |
| West Virginia | - | No. 61 | No. 51 | 4 |

### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| | Wooden | Naismith | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar |
| Jared Butler, Baylor | Y | Y | Y | | | | |
| MaCio Teague, Baylor | Y | Y | | Y | | | |
| Marcus Garrett, Kansas | Y | Y | Y | | | | |
| Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State | Y | Y | Y | | | | |
| Greg Brown, Texas | Y | Y | | | | Y | |
| Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia | Y | Y | | | | Y | |
| Matt Coleman III, Texas | | | Y | | | | |
| Ochai Agbaji, Kansas | | | | Y | | | |
| Terrence Shannon Jr., Texas Tech | | | | | Y | | |
| Mark Vital, Baylor | | | | | | Y | |
| Brady Manek, Oklahoma | | | | | | Y | |
| Derek Culver, West Virginia | | | | | | | Y |
| | Big 12 Coaches | Points |
| 1. | Baylor (7) | 79 |
| 2. | Kansas (3) | 73 |
| 3. | West Virginia | 61 |
| 4. | Texas | 58 |
| 5. | Texas Tech | 53 |
| 6. | Oklahoma | 39 |
| 7. | Oklahoma State | 35 |
| 8. | Iowa State | 19 |
| 9. | TCU | 18 |
| 10. | Kansas State | 15 |
| Reference: (#) first place votes |||
* Big 12 Coaches
* Jared Butler †, G Baylor Marcus Garrett †, G Kansas Austin Reaves, G Oklahoma Cade Cunningham, G Oklahoma State Matt Coleman III, G Texas Oscar Tshiebwe, F West Virginia
* † denotes unanimous selection Reference:

### Preseason national polls

| | AP | Athlon Sports | Blue Ribbon Yearbook | CBS Sports | Coaches | ESPN | Kenpom | SBNation | Sports Illustrated |
| Baylor | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Iowa State | | | | | | | 67 | | |
| Kansas | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Kansas State | | | | | | | 113 | | |
| Oklahoma | | 17 | | 38 | | | 31 | | |
| Oklahoma State | | | | 35 | RV | | 33 | | |
| TCU | | | | | | | 53 | | |
| Texas | 19 | | 23 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 9 | 19 | 22 |
| Texas Tech | 14 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| West Virginia | 15 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 8 | 15 | 17 |

## Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Final |
| Baylor | AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Baylor | C | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Iowa State | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Iowa State | C | | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kansas | AP | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 23 | RV | 23 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
| Kansas | C | 5 | – | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 22 | RV | 24 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| Kansas State | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kansas State | C | | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | AP | | | RV | | | | RV | | | 24 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 25 | RV |
| Oklahoma | C | | – | RV | | | | RV | | | RV | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 24 | RV | RV |
| Oklahoma State | AP | | | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | 17 | 12 | 11 |
| Oklahoma State | C | RV | – | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 19 |
| TCU | AP | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| TCU | C | | – | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | AP | 19 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 9 |
| Texas | C | 22 | – | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 9 | 21 |
| Texas Tech | AP | 14 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 |
| Texas Tech | C | 13 | – | 17 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 22 |
| West Virginia | AP | 15 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 13 |
| West Virginia | C | 15 | – | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 18 |

## Regular season
### Conference matrix

| | Baylor | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | TCU | Texas | Texas Tech | West Virginia |
| vs. Baylor | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| vs. Iowa State | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Kansas | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Kansas State | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Oklahoma | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Oklahoma State | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. TCU | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Texas | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Texas Tech | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 |
| vs. West Virginia | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — |
| Total | 13–1 | 0–18 | 12–6 | 4–14 | 9–8 | 11–7 | 5–11 | 11–6 | 9–8 | 11–6 |

### Big 12/SEC Challenge

| Date | Time | Big 12 team | SEC team | Location | TV | Attendance | Winner | Leader |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | Noon | 24 Oklahoma | 9 Alabama | Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, OK | ESPN | 2,680 | Oklahoma (66–61) | Big 12 (1–0) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | Noon | Kansas State | Texas A&M | Bramlage Coliseum • Manhattan, KS | ESPNU | 942 | Texas A&M (68–61) | Tied (1–1) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 2:00 PM | 11 West Virginia | Florida | WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, WV | ESPN | 1,000 | Florida (85–80) | SEC (2–1) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 2:00 PM | 10 Texas Tech | LSU | Pete Maravich Assembly Center • Baton Rouge, LA | ESPN2 | 2,808 | Texas Tech (76–71) | Tied (2–2) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 2:00 PM | TCU | 12 Missouri | Mizzou Arena • Columbia, MO | ESPNU | 3,063 | Missouri (102–98) (OT) | SEC (3–2) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 4:00 PM | 2 Baylor | Auburn | Ferrell Center • Waco, Texas | ESPN | 2,350 | Baylor (84–72) | Tied (3–3) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 4:00 PM | Oklahoma State | Arkansas | Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, OK | ESPN2 | 3,350 | Oklahoma State (81–77) | Big 12 (4–3) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 6:00 PM | 15 Kansas | 18 Tennessee | Thompson–Boling Arena • Knoxville, TN | ESPN | 4,191 | Tennessee (81–60) | Tied (4–4) |
| Sat., Jan. 30 | 6:00 PM | Iowa State | Mississippi State | Humphrey Coliseum • Starkville, MS | ESPN2 | 1,000 | Mississippi State (95–56) | SEC (5–4) |
| Georgia, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt will not participate for the SEC. The Texas-Kentucky game was canceled due to COVID-19. All times Eastern |||||||||

## Postseason
### Big 12 tournament

| First round Wednesday, March 10 | First round Wednesday, March 10 | First round Wednesday, March 10 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 | Semifinals Friday, March 12 | Semifinals Friday, March 12 | Semifinals Friday, March 12 | Championship Saturday, March 13 | Championship Saturday, March 13 | Championship Saturday, March 13 |
| | | | 1 | Baylor | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Kansas State | 68 | | | | | | |
| 8 | TCU | 50 | 9 | Kansas State | 68 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Kansas State | 71 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Kansas State | 71 | | | | 1 | Baylor | 74 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Oklahoma State | 83 | | | |
| | | | 4 | West Virginia | 69 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Oklahoma State | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 5 | Oklahoma State | 86 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Texas | 91 |
| | | | 2 | Kansas | 69 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Oklahoma | 62 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 79 | 7 | Oklahoma | 62 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Iowa State | 73 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Iowa State | 73 | | | | 2 | Kansas | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Texas | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Texas | 67 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Texas Tech | 66 | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | First Round | Second Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 1 | South | Baylor | #16 Hartford W, 79–55 | #9 Wisconsin W, 76–63 | #5 Villanova W, 62–51 | #3 Arkansas W, 81–72 | #2 Houston W, 78–59 | #1 Gonzaga W, 86–70 |
| 3 | West | Kansas | #14 Eastern Washington W, 93–84 | #6 USC L, 51–85 | | | | |
| 3 | East | Texas | #14 Abilene Christian L, 52–53 | | | | | |
| 3 | Midwest | West Virginia | #14 Morehead State W, 84–67 | #11 Syracuse L, 72–75 | | | | |
| 4 | Midwest | Oklahoma State | #13 Liberty 'W, 69–60 | #12 Oregon State L, 70–80 | | | | |
| 6 | South | Texas Tech | #11 Utah State W, 65–53 | #3 Arkansas L, 66–68 | | | | |
| 8 | West | Oklahoma | #9 Missouri W, 72–68 | #1 Gonzaga L, 71–87 | | | | |
| | 7 Bids | W-L (%): | 6–1 .857 | 1–5 .167 | 1–0 1.000 | 1–0 1.000 | 1–0 1.000 | TOTAL: 11–6 .647 |

## Honors and awards
### All-Americans

Consensus All-Americans :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team |
| Jared Butler, G, Baylor Cade Cunningham, G, Oklahoma State | | Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor |
| Reference: |||
To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, Sporting News, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

### All-Big 12 awards and teams

2021 Big 12 Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Cade Cunningham, G, Oklahoma State |
| Coach of the Year | Scott Drew, Baylor |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor |
| Sixth Man Award | Kai Jones, C, Texas |
| Newcomer of the Year | Mac McClung†, G, Texas Tech |
| Freshman of the Year | Cade Cunningham†, G, Oklahoma State |
| Reference: ||||
2021 Big 12 Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Defensive Team | Newcomer Team | Freshman Team |
| Jared Butler†, G, Baylor Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor Austin Reaves, G, Oklahoma Cade Cunningham†, G, Oklahoma St. Derek Culver, F, West Virginia | Marcus Garrett, G, Kansas David McCormack, F, Kansas Andrew Jones, G, Texas Mac McClung, G, Texas Tech Miles McBride, G, West Virginia | MaCio Teague, G, Baylor Rasir Bolton, G, Iowa State RJ Nembhard, G, TCU Matt Coleman III, G, Texas Courtney Ramey, G, Texas Terrence Shannon Jr., G, Texas | Jared Butler, G, Baylor Davion Mitchell†, G, Baylor Mark Vital†, F, Baylor Marcus Garrett†, G, Kansas Gabe Osabuohien, F, West Virginia | Jonathan Tchatchoua, F, Baylor Jalen Wilson, F, Kansas Greg Brown, F, Texas Cade Cunningham†, G, Oklahoma St. Mac McClung†, G, Texas Tech | Jalen Wilson†, F, Kansas Cade Cunningham†, G, Oklahoma St. Mike Miles, G, TCU Greg Brown†, F, Texas Jalen Bridges, F, West Virginia |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||||