Pairings set for CU Buffs basketball in return season in Big 12

The return season into the Big 12 Conference has a road map for the Colorado men's and women's basketball teams.

On Thursday, the league announced its pairings for the new 16-team edition of the league set to be unveiled in 2024-25, with Pac-12 refugees CU, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joining the conference while Big 12 stalwarts Texas and Oklahoma begin play in the SEC.

In men's basketball, as expected the Big 12's 20-game schedule will see each team play five opponents twice (home and away) and 10 others once (five at home, five on the road).

The 2024-25 CU Buffs, in coach Tad Boyle's 15th season at the helm, will face home-and-away series against Arizona State, Central Florida, Iowa State, Kansas and TCU. The Buffs' home-only matchups will be against Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and West Virginia, while CU is slated to visit Arizona, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Utah in the road-only matchups.

The format is slightly different for the CU women, who will play an 18-game league schedule. The Buffs, coming off back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, will play two games (home and away) against three opponents — Baylor, Texas Tech and West Virginia. CU will play the other 12 foes once apiece, with six at home (Arizona, Arizona State, Central Florida, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State) and six on the road (BYU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia).

Per a release from the Big 12, the matchups were selected "based on a combination of geography, historical results and a poll of the coaches to best balance the schedule in terms of travel and competitiveness."

The pairings will rotate on an annual basis. The specific dates, tipoff times and television information for all games will be announced at a later date.