SALT LAKE CITY – The 16th-seeded Utah men's basketball team is set to play the 9th-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the opening round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., starting at approximately 1 p.m. (MDT) / 2 p.m. (CDT) local from T-Mobile Center.
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Mike Monaco and former Arizona Wildcat All-American Miles Simon will have the action for fans on ESPN+ as the Runnin' Utes and Bearcats square off for the second time this season and first time at the conference tournament with the winner playing 8th-seeded UCF in the second round on Wednesday, March 11, at 1 p.m. (MDT) / 2 p.m. (CDT) local.
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PLAYING THE ODDS
Heading into this year's conference tournament, the No. 16-seed is 2-1 all-time while the ninth-seeded team is 15-29 (.341) all-time. The last time the ninth-seeded team won in the opening round dated back to 2022 before the latest realignment. Since realignment (2025), the No. 9 seed has gone 0-1 while the No. 16 seed has gone 2-1.
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UTES AT THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Since joining the Power Conference ranks in 2011-12, Utah is 8-14 all-time in its respective conference tournaments. The Utes went 8-13 all-time at the Pac-12 Tournament and currently 0-1 since joining the Big 12 Conference.
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• Overall record in Big 12 Tournament: 0-1
• Overall record in Kansas City: 2-7
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Overall record inside T-Mobile Center: 0-2
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Overall record as the higher seed: 0-1
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Overall record as the lower seed: --
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UTAH INSIDE T-MOBILE CENTER
• 12/13/14: #10 Kansas def. #13/14 Utah – 63-60*
• 3/11/25: #14-seed UCF def #11-seed Utah – 87-72
*Arena was then called the Sprint Center
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UTAH'S RECORD BY SEED (YEARS)
No. 11: 0-1 (2025)
No. 16: -- (2026)
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UTAH'S RECORD VS. THE FIELD
CIN: --
UCF: 0-1
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BIG 12 TOURNAMENT ROUND APPEARANCES BY YEAR
Round 1: 2025, 2026
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UP NEXT
Should the Utes advance to the second round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament, they'll take on the eight-seeded UCF Knights on Wednesday, March 11, at 1 p.m. (MDT) / 2 p.m. (CDT) on ESPNU with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden on the call from T-Mobile Center.
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For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at
www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on
Facebook,
X and
Instagram. Fans can also stay connected on their mobile devices or tablets with the
Utah 360 app.
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