The Georgia Lady Bulldogs will face Oklahoma State and Texas in the 2016 and 2017 SEC/Big 12 Challenges, respectively. The lineups for the events were announced Thursday by the respective league offices.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia will travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face the Cowgirls some time between Dec. 1-4, 2016. The 2017 contest between the Lady Bulldogs and Longhorns will be played in Athens during the same early-season time frame of 2017.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I’m extremely excited that we’ll be playing in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in 2016 and 2017,” head coach Joni Crenshaw said. “To go on the road to Oklahoma State, a very well-respected Big 12 program, will be a great test for our team. I expect it to be and exciting and competitive game to watch. In 2017, to have the University of Texas come onto our campus should be a great game. Both teams have such great history and this matchup has great history. Texas is full of talent right now. They’ve done a great job. That game will let us know where we are as a team and get us ready for our conference play.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia is 2-1 all-time against Oklahoma State but has never ventured to Stillwater. Most recently, the Lady Bulldogs defeated OSU 74-71 in overtime in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Georgia sports a 5-2 edge in its series with Texas, including a 2-1 record in Athens. The Lady Bulldogs’ last matchup with the Longhorns also was an NCAA second-round contest which Georgia won, 70-68, in 2005 in Dallas, Texas.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Thursday’s announcement included matchups for 10 games each season. Ten teams from the SEC will participate while every team from the Big 12 will take part in the Challenge each season. The format features five home games on campus sites for each conference per year. Teams will not face the same opponent twice.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We are excited to see the SEC/Big 12 Challenge expand in women’s basketball,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “The matchups on these four days, each year, will showcase the strength and depth of our women’s basketball teams and provide the fans of both conferences with exhilarating games.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The inaugural challenge was held in 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and featured a top-5 matchup with No. 3 Texas squaring off against No. 4 Texas A&M. Oklahoma and Arkansas played in the second game. The conferences split the Challenge with the two games decided by a total of nine points.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The 2015 version will be contested in Oklahoma City on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, with the opponents reversed. Texas will play Arkansas while Oklahoma entertains Texas A&M.
[su_spacer size=”40″] 2016 SEC/Big 12 Women’s Basketball Challenge Matchups
Auburn at Kansas State
Baylor at Tennessee
Georgia at Oklahoma State
Kansas at Alabama
Ole Miss at West Virginia
Mississippi State at Iowa State
Oklahoma at Kentucky
South Carolina at Texas
TCU at Florida
Texas Tech at Arkansas
[su_spacer size=”40″] 2017 Big 12/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge Matchups
Alabama at TCU
Arkansas at Kansas
Florida at Oklahoma
Iowa State at Vanderbilt
Kansas State at Missouri
Kentucky at Baylor
LSU at Texas Tech
Oklahoma State at Mississippi State
Texas at Georgia
West Virginia at Texas A&M