The Big East–Big 12 Battle was an annual NCAA Division I men's college basketball series in which teams from the Big East Conference faced teams of the Big 12 Conference. The series was played from 2019 to 2024. The Big East–Big 12 Battle originally was planned as a four-season competition to be played annually from 2019 through 2022, but on August 1, 2022, the two conferences announced a two-year extension of the series, with games also to be played in 2023 and 2024.Anonymous, "BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle Extended Two Years," bigeast.com, August 1, 2022 Accessed July 15, 2023 On April 10, 2024, Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today reported that the Big East-Big 12 Battle would not continue past the 2024–25 season.
In 2019, when the Big East consisted of 10 teams, all 10 Big East teams faced one of the 10 Big 12 teams. The Big East expanded to 11 teams when UConn moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East for the 2020–2021 season, so from 2020 through 2022 ten of the eleven Big East teams faced one of the Big 12 teams and one Big East team did not participate, although four games scheduled for the 2020 series were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Big 12 added four new schools to the conference in 2023, allowing all 11 Big East teams to participate each season, while three of the 14 Big 12 teams did not. With the Big 12 expanding to 16 teams in 2024, five of its teams sat out the final year of the challenge.
In the 10-game format used from 2019 to 2022, each conference hosted five games each season. In the 11-game format for 2023 and 2024, the Big 12 hosted six games in 2023 and the Big East hosted six in 2024.
The teams in the Big East-Big 12 Battle did not face each other all on the same day. Instead, they played each other over the span of as much as two and a half weeks, with games scheduled in late November and December in some years and solely in December in others. The Big East won the first series 8–2 in 2019, the next three series ended in a tie between the two conferences, and the Big 12 won the 2023 series 7–4 and the 2024 series 6–5. Overall, the Big East won 30 games and the Big 12 won 28.
Big 12 home games aired on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, and ABC, while Big East home games aired on Fox and Fox Sports 1.
Conference and team records
Big East Conference (1–2–3) TeamWinsLossesDNPWin %Total AttendanceButler Bulldogs32 115,553Creighton Bluejays33 053,348DePaul Blue Demons12 315,239Georgetown Hoyas15 07,910Marquette Golden Eagles42 030,755Providence Friars42 031,901Seton Hall Pirates14 119,272St. John's Red Storm32 122,652UConn Huskies22 120,466Villanova Wildcats42 023,580Xavier Musketeers42 020,932Overall30287 273,130 NOTE: UConn moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East Conference in 2020.
Big 12 Conference (2–1–3) TeamWinsLossesDNPWin %Total AttendanceArizona Wildcats001–Arizona State Sun Devils001–Baylor Bears32125,803BYU Cougars0110Cincinnati Bearcats0110Colorado Buffaloes001–Houston Cougars20017,507Iowa State Cyclones50141,913Kansas Jayhawks42035,100Kansas State Wildcats14127,397Oklahoma Sooners14015,888Oklahoma State Cowboys24033,531TCU Horned Frogs42018,814Texas Longhorns14013,269Texas Tech Red Raiders23126,114West Virginia Mountaineers33034,348UCF Knights002–Utah Utes001–Overall283012289,684 NOTES: In 2023, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 Conference and BYU moved from the West Coast Conference to the Big 12. In 2024, Arizona and Arizona State moved from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big 12 and Oklahoma and Texas moved from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference.
Results
2019 Big East (8–2) DateTimeBig East teamBig 12 teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader 7:30 PM DePaulTexas Tech 65–60 OT Wintrust Arena • Chicago, Illinois FS1 10,387 8:00 PM Georgetown Oklahoma State 81–74 Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Oklahoma ESPN+ 13,611 St. John'sWest Virginia 70–68 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY FS1 7,281 8:00 PM Marquette Kansas State 65–73 Bramlage Coliseum • Manhattan, Kansas ESPN2 10,073 9:00 PM No. 16 Seton Hall Iowa State 76–66 Hilton Coliseum • Ames, Iowa ESPN2 14,269 9:00 PM No. 17 Butler No. 11 Baylor 52–53 Ferrell Center • Waco, Texas ESPN2 7,270 7:30 PM Creighton Oklahoma 83–73 CHI Health Center Omaha • Omaha, Nebraska FS1 17,146 No. 18 Villanova No. 1 Kansas 56–55 Wells Fargo Center • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania FOX 20,706 2:00 PM Providence Texas 70–48 Dunkin Donuts Center • Providence, Rhode Island FOX 9,876 5:00 PM Xavier TCU 59–67 Schollmaier Arena • Fort Worth, Texas ESPN2 6,445 WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. All times Eastern. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game.
2020 Tied (3–3) DateTimeBig East teamBig 12 teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Seton Hall No. 2 Baylor Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic Marquette Oklahoma State 70–62 Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, WI FS1 0 St. John'sNo. 17 Texas Tech Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic No. 12 VillanovaNo. 17 Texas 68–64 Frank Erwin Center • Austin, TX ESPN 2,506Tie (1–1) GeorgetownNo. 11 West Virginia 80–71 McDonough Gymnasium • Washington, DC FS1 0Big 12 (2–1) DePaulIowa State Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic No. 8 CreightonNo. 5 Kansas 73–72 Allen Fieldhouse • Lawrence, KS ESPN 2,500 Big 12 (3–1) ProvidenceTCU 79–70 Schollmaier Arena • Fort Worth, TX ESPNU 1,620 Big 12 (3–2) XavierOklahoma 99–77 Cintas Center • Cincinnati, OH FS1 300 Tie (3–3)Fri., Dec. 11 ButlerKansas State Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS All times Eastern. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: UConn. At all games, fan and press attendance was either limited or prohibited entirely by local health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 Tied (5–5) DateTimeBig East teamBig 12 teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Providence Texas Tech 72–68 Dunkin Donuts Center • Providence, Rhode Island FS1 10,020 Fri., Dec. 3 St. John's No. 8 Kansas 95–75 UBS Arena • Elmont, New York FS1 9,769 Tie (1–1) Creighton No. 19 Iowa State 64–58 CHI Health Center Omaha • Omaha, Nebraska FS1 18,294 Big 12 (2–1)Sun., Dec. 5 Xavier Oklahoma State 77–71 Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Oklahoma ESPN2 13,611 Tie (2–2) Tue., Dec. 7 Butler Oklahoma 66–62 Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, Oklahoma ESPN2 8,654 Wed., Dec. 8 No. 15 UConnWest Virginia 56–53 WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, West Virginia ESPN2 12,045Tie (3–3) Marquette Kansas State 64–63 Bramlage Coliseum • Manhattan, Kansas ESPN2 7,184 Thu., Dec. 9 No. 23 Seton Hall No. 7 Texas 64–60 Prudential Center • Newark, New Jersey FS1 10,481 No. 6 Villanova No. 2 Baylor 57–36 Ferrell Center • Waco, TexasABC 10,264 Sat., Dec. 18 Georgetown TCU 80–73 Capital One Arena • Washington, D.C. FS1 5,053Tie (5–5) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. All times Eastern. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: DePaul
2022 Tied (5–5) DateTimeBig East teamBig 12 teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader 8:30 PM Marquette No. 6 Baylor 96–70 Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, WI FS1 14,022 6:30 PM Butler Kansas State 76–64 Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, IN FS1 7,660 8:00 PM Providence TCU 75–62 Schollmaier Arena • Fort Worth, TX ESPN+ 5,593 8:00 PM Georgetown Texas Tech 79–65 United Supermarkets Arena • Lubbock, TX ESPN+ 14,649 Tie (2–2) 6:30 PM No. 8 UConn Oklahoma State 74–64 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT FS1 10,167 7:00 PM No. 7 Creighton No. 2 Texas 72–67 Moody Center • Austin, TX ESPN 10,763 Tie (3–3) 9:00 PM Seton HallNo. 9 Kansas 91–65 Allen Fieldhouse • Lawrence, KS ESPN 16,300 Big 12 (4–3) Villanova Oklahoma 70–66 Wells Fargo Center • Philadelphia, PA CBS 17,079 Tie (4–4) 6:30 PM Xavier West Virginia 84–74 Cintas Center • Cincinnati, Ohio FS1 10,460 3:00 PM St. John's No. 23 Iowa State 71–60 Hilton Coliseum • Ames, Iowa ESPN2 13,377 Tie (5–5) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. All times Eastern. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: DePaul
2023 Big 12 (7–4) DateTimeBig East teamBig 12 teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader Butler Texas Tech Hinkle Fieldhouse • Indianapolis, IN FS1 7,893 9:00 PM No. 15 Creighton Oklahoma State 79–65 Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Oklahoma ESPN2 6,309 Big East (2–0)Fri., Dec. 1 6:30 PM Xavier No. 6 Houston 66–60 Cintas Center • Cincinnati, Ohio FS1 10,472 Big East (2–1) 7:00 PM St. John's West Virginia 79–73 WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, West Virginia ESPN2 10,781 Big East (3–1) 8:30 PM DePaul Iowa State 99–80 Wintrust Arena • Chicago FS1 4,852 Big East (3–2) 9:00 PM No. 4 UConn No. 5 Kansas 69–65 Allen Fieldhouse • Lawrence, KS ESPN2 16,300 Tie (3–3) Sat., Dec. 2 5:37 PM Georgetown TCU 84–83 Capital One Arena • Washington, D.C. FS1 7,910 Big 12 (4–3)Tue., Dec. 5 7:00 PM Providence No. 19 Oklahoma 72–51 Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, Oklahoma ESPNU 7,234 Big 12 (5–3) 7:00 PM Villanova Kansas State 72–71OT Bramlage Coliseum • Manhattan, Kansas ESPN2 10,140 Big 12 (6–3) 9:00 PM Seton Hall No. 6 Baylor 78–60 Ferrell Center • Waco, Texas ESPN2 8,269 Big 12 (7–3)Wed, Dec. 6 7:00 PM No. 8 Marquette No. 12 Texas 86–65 Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, WI FS1 16,733 Big 12 (7–4) WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. All times Eastern. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: BYU, Cincinnati, UCF
2024 Big 12 (6–5) DateTimeBig East teamBig 12 teamScoreLocationTelevisionAttendanceLeader 6:30 PM Villanova No. 14 Cincinnati 68–60 Finneran Pavilion • Villanova, PA FS1 6,501 8:30 PM Providence BYU 83–64 Amica Mutual Pavilion • Providence, RI FS1 12,005 6:30 PM No. 25 UConn No. 15 Baylor 76–72 Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT FS1 10,299 7:00 PM No. 5 Marquette No. 6 Iowa State 81–70 Hilton Coliseum • Ames, IA ESPN+ 14,267 8:30 PM Creighton No. 1 Kansas 76–63 CHI Health Center Omaha • Omaha, NE FS1 17,908 9:00 PM DePaul Texas Tech 76–62 United Supermarkets Arena • Lubbock, TX ESPNU 11,465 8:00 PM Xavier TCU 76–72 Schollmaier Arena • Fort Worth, TX ESPN+ 5,156 7:00 PM Georgetown West Virginia 73–60 WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, WV ESPN2 11,522 St. John's Kansas State 88–71 Carnesecca Arena • Jamaica, NY Fox 5,602 5:30 PM Butler No. 17 Houston 79–51 Fertitta Center • Houston, TX ESPN2 7,035 Seton Hall Oklahoma State 85–76 Prudential Center • Newark, NJ FS1 8,791 WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. All times Eastern. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, UCF, Utah
References