Are you ready for the best stretch of the Big 12 basketball season?

Arizona has been an unstoppable force. The Wildcats are 23-0, officially the best start to a season in Big 12 history. Only three conference opponents have even kept it within single digits against Tommy Lloyd’s group. They’re the unanimous No. 1 team in the country and have sat atop the AP poll for nine straight weeks. 

Did you see what they did to Oklahoma State on Saturday? Days after dropping 99 on BYU, the Cowboys, who average 86 points per game, didn’t even break 50 in a 37-point loss in Tucson. Arizona led by as many as 43.

The Wildcats have high-quality non-conference wins over Florida, UCLA, UConn, Alabama, and Auburn, so they’re battle-tested. But it’s also fair to say their Big 12 slate is back-loaded.

They haven’t seen the other top-five teams in the current Big 12 standings yet. That changes now. Check out this stretch:

There can’t be a more difficult stretch of games for any team in the country this year. 

Kansas is 38-0 at home on Big Monday. Can Arizona make history with a win in Allen Fieldhouse tonight? It’s going to be an all-time atmosphere in there. A couple of weeks ago, it felt like the Jayhawks had lost some of their AFH mojo, but it has been back in full force lately.

If tonight isn’t the Big 12 game of the year, it certainly feels like next Saturday’s game between Arizona and Houston at the Fertitta Center will be.

I saw Houston in person on Saturday at BYU, and the Cougars are a legitimate national title contender. They’re unflappable, even in a charged-up Marriott Center.

Every time BYU made a run to get the crowd into it, Houston had a response. They’re killer shot-makers who disrupt absolutely everything defensively—just ask BYU star Richie Saunders. 

Saunders made one field goal in 33 minutes while being hounded the entire night.

How does that defense translate against the interior muscle Arizona brings? I can’t wait to find out.

Arizona’s matchup with Iowa State on March 2 could also have real Big 12 title implications, especially if the Cyclones survive a mini gauntlet of their own. ISU has ripped through a more manageable stretch since its upset loss to Cincinnati.

Oh, and College GameDay will be in Tucson on Saturday when the Wildcats host Texas Tech.

It’s the third time in four weeks that the Big 12 will host Gameday, and there’s almost no way the Gameday crew won’t be following Arizona to Houston the Saturday after. 

I don’t think the Big 12 has ever been deeper with legitimate national championship contenders, and now they all get to play each other in the stretch run.

Get your popcorn ready.

What You Need to Know

• Kelvin Sampson had incredibly high praise for the atmosphere at BYU’s Marriott Center. 

• The Big 12 fined Oklahoma State for chants directed at BYU in their game last week. Some think it didn’t go far enough. 

• Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller had an interesting run-in with some Bearcats fans caught on tape after another tough loss. 

• Things continue to get worse for K-State men’s basketball. A member of Jerome Tang’s staff was arrested for domestic battery over the weekend. 

• I finally got to experience the Marriott Center in Provo. How does it compare to the atmosphere inside Allen Fieldhouse? Here’s my breakdown.

Enjoying Open For Business? It would mean the world to me if you could share the newsletter with three of your friends who want Big 12 news without SEC or Big Ten bias. Tell them to sign up at OFBNews.com and get started today!