Could there be a Round 3 of the BYU-Utah women’s basketball rivalry this season?
That’s a strong possibility, after the Big 12 tournament bracket was finalized Sunday.
Utah earned the No. 8 seed and a first-round bye, while BYU received the No. 9 seed.
As a result, the two rivals could meet in the second round of the event on Thursday.
BYU will open the conference tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Wednesday against No. 16 Houston (12:30 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
If BYU wins, it will advance to face Utah in the second round Thursday (12:30 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
The Cougars swept the season series against the Utes, beating Utah 77-65 in Provo before winning again in Salt Lake City 86-74 less than two weeks ago.
As for its opening-round opponent, BYU beat Houston 79-64 in the lone matchup between the sides this season.
Both BYU and Utah are considered NCAA Tournament bubble teams heading into the Big 12 tournament and would benefit greatly from conference tournament runs to bolster their NCAA resumes.
Who earned byes at the Big 12 tournament?
TCU repeated as Big 12 regular-season champions, beating Baylor Sunday to win the crown outright.
As a result, the Horned Frogs are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament and will have a bye all the way to the quarterfinal round.
West Virginia is the No. 2 seed, Baylor the No. 3 seed and Oklahoma State the No. 4 seed, and like TCU, all three will have a bye into the quarterfinals.
Four other teams — No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 Colorado, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 8 Utah — earned first-round byes.
The rest of the league’s teams will play in the first round.
TCU won last year’s Big 12 tournament, beating Baylor 64-59 in the championship. the Horned Frogs then advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Big 12 women’s basketball tournament seeds
- No. 1 — TCU Horned Frogs (27-4, 15-3 Big 12)
- No. 2 — West Virginia Mountaineers (24-6, 14-4)
- No. 3 — Baylor Bears (24-7, 13-5)
- No. 4 — Oklahoma State Cowgirls (23-8, 12-6)
- No. 5 — Texas Tech Lady Raiders (25-6, 12-6)
- No. 6 — Colorado Buffaloes (20-10, 11-7)
- No. 7 — Iowa State Cyclones (22-8, 10-8)
- No. 8 — Utah Utes (19-11, 10-8)
- No. 9 — BYU Cougars (20-10, 9-9)
- No. 10 — Arizona State Sun Devils (22-9, 9-9)
- No. 11 — Kansas Jayhawks (18-12, 8-10)
- No. 12 — Kansas State Wildcats (15-16, 8-10)
- No. 13 — Cincinnati Bearcats (11-19, 6-12)
- No. 14 — UCF Knights (11-18, 3-15)
- No. 15 — Arizona Wildcats (12-17, 3-15)
- No. 16 — Houston Cougars (7-22, 1-17)
Big 12 women’s basketball tournament schedule
First round
Wednesday, March 4
- Game 1: No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 13 Cincinnati, 10 a.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 2: No. 9 BYU vs. No. 16 Houston, 12:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 3: No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 15 Arizona, 4:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 4: No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 14 UCF, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
Second round
Thursday, March 5
- Game 5: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. Game 1 winner, 10 a.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 6: No. 8 Utah vs. Game 2 winner, 12:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 7: No. 7 Iowa State vs. Game 3 winner, 4:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 8: No. 6 Colorado vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 6
- Game 9: No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. Game 5 winner, 10 a.m. MST (ESPNU)
- Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. Game 6 winner, 12:30 p.m. MST (ESPNU)
- Game 11: No. 2 West Virginia vs. Game 7 winner, 4:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 12: No. 3 Baylor vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
Semifinals
Saturday, March 7
- Game 13: Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner, 2 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
- Game 14: Game 11 vs. Game 12 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Championship
Sunday, March 8
- Game 15: Semifinal winners, 3 p.m. MST (ESPN)
Note: If BYU advances to the championship, the game will be moved to Monday, March 9 at 2 p.m. MST (TV TBD).