Mar 15, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; The Houston Cougars and head coach Kelvin Sampson react after defeating the Arizona Wildcats in the Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship game at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images William Purnell-Imagn Images

Houston Cougars Reveal Big 12 Schedule

Originally posted on Houston Cougars on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 4:11 PM ET

The Houston Cougars are one of the newest members of the Big 12, but already, they've proven themselves to be the class of the conference.

In their first two seasons in the Big 12, Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars have an astonishing record of 67-10, including a 34-4 mark in conference play, and have won the regular season title in back-to-back seasons. They fell short in the Big 12 Tournament final in 2024, but came back and won the whole thing in 2025 before going on to play in the National Championship Game.

As the Cougars look to defend their crown, they now know exactly what challenges lie ahead.

Houston Cougars' Big 12 Schedule Features Three Home-and-Homes

Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Tuesday, the Big 12 unveiled the full conference schedule for the 2025-26 campaign. The Cougars' conference schedule is as follows:

Jan. 3 - at Cincinnati
Jan. 6 - vs. Texas Tech
Jan. 10 - at Baylor
Jan. 13 - vs. West Virginia
Jan. 18 - vs. Arizona State
Jan. 24 - at Texas Tech
Jan. 28 - at TCU
Jan. 31 - vs. Cincinnati
Feb. 4. - vs. UCF
Feb. 7 - at BYU
Feb. 10 - at Utah
Feb. 14 - vs. Kansas State
Feb. 16 - at Iowa State
Feb. 21 - vs. Arizona
Feb. 23 - at Kansas
Feb. 28 - vs. Colorado
March 4 - vs. Baylor
March 7 - at Oklahoma State

The Cougars will face Baylor, Cincinnati and Texas Tech twice each this season, once at Fertita Center and once on the road. They'll then face Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Kansas State, UCF and West Virginia only at home - as well as BYU, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU and Utah only on the road.

The Big 12 utilized a 20-game conference schedule last season but is now back to only 18 games.

Even with two extra conference games, though, the Cougars still dominated in a way few other teams have. They went 19-1 in conference play, becoming the only team in Division I history to post that record in a 20-game slate alongside Duke, whom they then defeated in the Final Four. They also became the first Division I team to ever post a 10-0 road record in conference play, per Houston Athletics.

The Cougars are set up for success once again this season, with three starters returning in Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler. The Big 12 will be tough once again, but they are more than up to the task.

This article first appeared on Houston Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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