NCAAW: TCU among several teams to watch during 2025 Big 12 Tournament

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It’s time once again for the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will tip-off this Wednesday, March 5 and run through Sunday, March 9.* Every game in the tournament will be streamed live via ESPN+, and the championship game will be aired nationally on ESPN.

The Big 12 was one of several conferences heavily affected by recent conference realignment, welcoming four new schools for the second year in a row. It also lost two of its biggest names, Texas and Oklahoma, both of which went to the SEC. All in all, the Big 12 has grown from 10 teams in 2023 to 16 in 2025, and the new field opens up opportunities for several programs to make history in this year’s tournament.

Chief among those programs is TCU, which went 16-2 in Big 12 play (28-3 overall) and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. It’s a monumental achievement for the Horned Frogs, who went 6-12 against Big 12 opponents last season and just 1-17 the in 2022-23, and with rivals Texas (last year’s Big 12 Tournament champions) and Oklahoma (last year’s Big 12 regular-season champions) now playing elsewhere, TCU has seized that opportunity and risen to the top of the conference.

The Horned Frogs’ performance earned them plenty of hardware. Head coach Mark Campbell, in just his second season at the helm, earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors. Grad transfer Hailey Van Lith was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after averaging 17.6 points and 5.4 assists per game. She was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team, along with teammates Sedona Prince (17.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game) and Madison Conner (14.8 points and 3.5 made 3-pointers per game).

Needless to say, TCU will be expected to go far in the tournament, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Horned Frogs retain their regular-season momentum en route to a tournament championship. They’ll face stiff competition, though, from No. 2 seed Baylor (25-6; 15-3 Big 12), which has had by far the most tournament success of any Big 12 program. The Bears have won a whopping 11 Big 12 Tournament titles since 1997, and while they haven’t been quite as dominant in conference play since their last title in 2021, they have the guard play and team defense (81.6 points allowed per 100 possessions; Her Hoop Stats) to make things difficult for just about any opponent.

Audi Crooks, JJ Quinerly among players to watch

There will be plenty of star power in the tournament, too. TCU’s Van Lith and Conner won’t be the only guards to watch; JJ Quinerly of the West Virginia Mountaineers deserves attention, too, as she might be the most dynamic backcourt player in the entire conference.

Quinerly has made a name for herself as one of the country’s peskiest defenders, and she just won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second-consecutive season after averaging 3.1 steals per game. She can push the envelope offensively, too, averaging a career-high 20.5 points per game as a senior and 27.4 points across her final five regular-season games. If there’s one player in the Big 12 who truly embodies their respective team’s playing style, it’s Quinerly: West Virginia led Division I in defensive rating (74.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) and steal rate (17.3 percent), with Quinerly’s relentless energy fueling that defense.

As for frontcourt players, look for Iowa State center Audi Crooks to continue her outstanding play. After a strong freshman season highlighted by a captivating NCAA Tournament performance, Crooks kept it rolling as a sophomore, averaging 23 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field. Save for Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee—whose status for the Big 12 Tournament is unknown due to a lingering foot injury—Crooks is the most dominant offensive center in the conference, and she’ll be at the top of every Iowa State opponent’s scouting report.

Which of the newcomers will make the most noise?

This year’s tournament will be the first for newcomers Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, and the first for Colorado since 2011, when the Buffaloes were last part of the Big 12. These former Pac-12 schools have had varying degrees of success this season: Arizona State has struggled, going just 3-15 against Big 12 opponents, while Arizona (10-8) and Colorado (9-9) have been lukewarm.

Utah, however, has mostly been up to the task in its new home. The Utes tied West Virginia and Kansas State with a 13-5 conference record (22-7 overall) and will be seeded No. 7 overall in the tournament. They’re led by junior guard Gianna Kneepkens, who is one of the best outside shooters not only in the Big 12, but all of Division I, averaging 19 points per game while shooting 45.3 percent on 6.6 3-point attempts. As a team, Utah ranked sixth in the country in total 3-pointers made (291) and ninth in assists per game (18.7); if the Utes are able to generate open 3-point looks with their ball movement, they could make a deep run in the tournament.

Big 12 Tournament schedule

All games will be played at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO.

First Round — Wednesday, Mar. 5

Game 1: No. 12 BYU vs. No. 13 UCF, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 2: No. 9 Colorado vs. No. 16 Houston, approx. 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 3: No. 10 Cincinnati vs. No. 15 Arizona State, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 4: No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, approx. 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Second Round — Thursday, Mar. 6

Game 5: No. 5 K-State vs. winner of Game 1, 12 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 6: No. 8 Arizona vs. winner of Game 2, approx. 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 7: No. 7 Iowa State vs. winner of Game 3, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 8: No. 6 Utah vs. winner of Game 4, approx. 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Quarterfinals — Friday, Mar. 7

Game 9: No. 4 West Virginia vs. winner of Game 5, 12 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. winner of Game 6, approx. 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Game 11: No. 2 Baylor vs. winner of Game 7, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Game 12: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. winner of Game 8, approx. 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)