The Big 12 Conference Tournament tips off Tuesday in Kansas City and Sun Devil fans will be tuning in to watch ASU play Kansas State in the first round. The Devils aren't favored to advance but any college basketball fan understands that anybody, regardless of record, can get hot and win games in March.
Conference commissioner Brett Yormark seems to understand that better than anybody at the moment, taking a moment at a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday to tout the Big 12's dominance across the sport.
"We are the best men’s basketball conference in America," Yormark declared. "No doubt about it."
At face value, any college basketball fan will debate him on that point. But Yormark came with receipts in hand.
"In referencing this year specifically, we've got four teams in the NET top ten [rankings], seven teams in KenPom's top 30," Yormark rattled off. "At least half of our conference, maybe more, will be in the NCAA Tournament."
He's right, the Big 12 has featured heavily in just about every edition of "March Madness" in recent memory and has had at least one of its members favored to win the national championship.
Yormark referenced how much of a "grind" the Big 12 schedule is, something that's been mentioned by national media outlets year in and year out.
Big 12 commissioner credits Four Corner schools for conference's enhanced dominance
If there's one thing ASU fans know about Yormark, it's that he goes to bat for the conference's members. He vigorously defended the Sun Devils' football resume in 2024, lobbying hard for their inclusion as a top four seed in the College Football Playoff.
Tuesday, Yormark gave the Four Corner schools (Arizona, ASU, Utah and Colorado) their flowers for enhancing the Big 12's dominance across the sport.
"Certainly the Four Corner schools have made us stronger," he said. "Every one of our games feels like a tournament game ... [we're] excited to have 16 schools here, we have a deep conference ... it's wide open."
However, as most fans know, the real draw to adding those programs for basketball was primarily found in Tucson. Arizona was a perennial title contender as a member of the Pac-12 while ASU, Utah and Colorado rarely had a competitive chance.
Yormark admitted, like any conference, there are heavy favorites to be crowned champions but "anyone can win [the title]," therefore increasing the credibility of his claim that he leads the best conference in the country.