The Big 12 will play basketball, women’s soccer and baseball games in Mexico beginning in December 2024 and plans to explore creating a bowl game in Monterrey, it said Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:

• The games, which will begin with Kansas and Houston playing men’s and women’s basketball games in Mexico City’s Arena CDMX, are part of the conference’s “international extension” into Mexico.
• Big 12 women’s soccer and baseball teams will play exhibitions against clubs in the region, the Big 12 said.
• If the conference is successful in creating the bowl game, which the Big 12 says would begin in 2026, it would be the first bowl ever held in Mexico.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Why is the Big 12 making this move?

Commissioner Brett Yormark has been aggressive in exploring ways to increase the Big 12’s national relevance, including efforts to add new members, emphasizing the league’s basketball strength and trying to alter the league’s image into “younger, hipper, cooler.” Hosting events in Mexico is another creative way to expand the league’s brand to attract eyeballs and revenue. That the launch pits longtime men’s basketball power and four-time champion Kansas with Big 12 newcomer Houston, a resurgent program with rich history and recent…

Like the stock market, predicting what happens in women’s college basketball from week to week isn’t an easy endeavor. Upsets lurk around every corner. A top team or player could have an off night. A lower-ranked team could play at a higher level. Unexpected injuries arise. All you can do is take the information you have at your disposal and make educated decisions based on the facts in front of you. Whatever happens from there happens. Which means sometimes those predictions go right out the window. But that’s what makes it so much fun.

So, let’s crack open those wallets of fandom. For the next few weeks leading up to the NCAA Tournament, I’ll give you my best advice for rising and falling teams, ones to hold on to and ride out the storm with and some that are just too volatile to trust.

Rising

South Carolina (25-0 overall, 12-0 in conference; first SEC, NET: 1, AP: 1)

South Carolina’s stock was already high, and the Gamecocks were looking to be a lock for the No. 1 seed before Sunday’s game against No. 3 LSU. And yet somehow their reputation is even more solid after a dominating 88-64 win over the Tigers. The Gamecocks were on another level from the start, going up 18-2 on LSU midway through the first quarter. Aliyah Boston (14 points, nine rebounds and three…