The SEC and the Big 12 will have all 16 teams in each conference participating in their respective conference tournaments in 2025, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Rothstein also noted that the ACC and the Big Ten will not operate similarly. In both conferences, only 15 of the 18 teams will be eligible to compete in each conference tournament.

The 2024 Big 12 men's basketball tournament marked the first Big 12 event with 14 schools after the additions of BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston.

The conference will now feature 16 teams vying for a Big 12 title with the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. The departure of Oklahoma and Texas kept the total number of teams at 16 after the schools joined the SEC.

The Sooners and Longhorns will bring the SEC to 16 teams during the 2024-25 season, while all schools will be eligible to participate in the conference tournament. Auburn, the reigning tournament champions, will attempt to defend its 2024 title.

The ACC previously announced that only 15 schools would be able to participate in the 2025 tournament following the additions of California and Stanford from the Pac-12 as well as SMU from the AAC.

While it would have been extremely unlikely for a potential No. 18 seed to take home the conference tournament title, the decision to shrink the number of eligible teams was still a surprising development after NC State secured the ACC championship in 2024 as the No. 10 seed.

As for the Big Ten, the tournament field will expand from 14 to 15 teams during the 2024-25 season after the conference previously allowed all 14 teams to compete.

While the Big 12 and SEC have experienced numerous additions and departures, all 16 teams will still be able to contend for a title during the 2025 tournaments.