2015–16 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season
The 2015–16 Big 12 men's basketball season was the 20th season of basketball for the Big 12 Conference. Team practices began in October 2015, followed by the start of the regular season on November 13. Conference play began on January 2, 2016, and concluded on March 5. Kansas won their 12th straight Big 12 regular season championship by finishing 33–5 overall and 15–3 in conference play, two games ahead of second-place West Virginia. The 2016 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 9–12, 2016 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Kansas won the tournament for the 10th time in school history.
Buddy Hield of Oklahoma was named Big 12 Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and became just the third player in conference history to be named the National college player of the year.
Seven schools were awarded a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa State each reached the Sweet 16, with Oklahoma advancing all the way to the Final four before losing to the eventual champions Villanova.
Preseason
| Big 12 Coaches | Points | |
| 1. | Kansas | 81 |
| 2. | Oklahoma | 70 |
| 3. | Iowa State | 68 |
| 4. | Texas | 51 |
| 5. | Baylor | 49 |
| 6. | West Virginia | 47 |
| 7. | Oklahoma State | 33 |
| 8. | Kansas State | 18 |
| 8. | TCU | 18 |
| 10. | Texas Tech | 15 |
first place votes
Pre-Season All-Big 12 Team
| Big 12 Coaches |
| Isaiah Taylor, G Texas Buddy Hield, G Oklahoma Perry Ellis, F Kansas Georges Niang, F Iowa State Rico Gathers, F Baylor |
- Player of the Year: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
- Newcomer of the Year: Deonte Burton, Iowa State
- Freshman of the Year: Cheick Diallo, Kansas
Rankings
Regular season
Conference Matrix
Points scored
[2015–16 [Baylor Bears basketball team|Baylor]]
[2015–16 [Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team|Iowa State]]
[2015–16 [Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team|Kansas]]
[2015–16 [Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team|Kansas State]]
[2015–16 [Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team|Oklahoma]]
[2015–16 [Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team|Oklahoma State]]
[2015–16 [TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball team|TCU]]
[2015–16 [Texas Longhorns men's basketball team|Texas]]
[2015–16 [Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team|Texas Tech]]
[2015–16 [West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team|West Virginia]]
Honors and awards
All-Big 12 awards and teams
Phillips 66 Player of the Week
Postseason
Big 12 Tournament
- March 9–12, 2016–Big 12 Conference Basketball Tournament, Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO.
Bracket
NCAA tournament
| Seed | Region | School | First Round | Second Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four |
| 1 | South | Kansas | #16 Austin Peay - March 17, Des Moines - W, 105–79 | #9 Connecticut - March 19, Des Moines - W, 73–61 | #5 Maryland - March 24, Louisville - W, 79–63 | #2 Villanova - March 26, Louisville - L, 59–64 | |
| 2 | West | Oklahoma | #15 Cal State Bakersfield - March 18, Oklahoma City - W, 82–68 | #10 VCU - March 20, Oklahoma City - W, 85–81 | #3 Texas A&M - March 24, Anaheim - W, 77–63 | #1 Oregon - March 26, Anaheim - W, 80–68 | #2 Villanova - April 2, Houston - L, 51–95 |
| 3 | East | West Virginia | #14 Stephen F. Austin - March 18, Brooklyn - L, 56–70 | ||||
| 4 | Midwest | Iowa State | #13 Iona - March 17, Denver - W, 94–81 | #12 Little Rock - March 19, Denver - W, 78–61 | #1 Virginia - March 25, Chicago - L, 71–84 | ||
| 5 | West | Baylor | #12 Yale - March 17, Providence - L, 75–79 | ||||
| 6 | West | Texas | #11 Northern Iowa - March 18, Oklahoma City - L, 72–75 | ||||
| 8 | Midwest | Texas Tech | #9 Butler - March 17, Raleigh - L, 61–71 | ||||
| 7 Bids | W-L : | 3–4 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | TOTAL: 9–7 |
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