411OnTheForty: Texas women’s basketball schedule released
The 2020-21 Texas women's basketball schedule was released Monday, and features several notable non-conference opponents and an always-competitive conference schedule.
The Vic Schaefer era of Texas women's basketball will begin Nov. 25, when former Longhorn Travis Mays brings SMU to Austin. The Mustangs finished last season with a 13-16 record. Mays was a four-year letterwinner for the Texas men's basketball team and an assistant for the women from 2012-16, after which he headed north to take over the SMU program.
The road will only get more challenging from there.
Texas hosts North Texas and Lousiana Tech in back-to-back home games Nov. 29, and Dec. 2, respectively. Former UT associate head coach and Longhorn star Jamie Carey will have a homecoming of sorts, as she begins her second stint on the UNT staff.
411OnTheForty: Texas men’s basketball schedule features Kentucky, Big 12 slate
Then comes the heavyweights: Texas A&M journeys to Austin Dec. 6 for the Big 12/SEC challenge. Schaefer was an assistant coach for the Aggies from 2003-12, before taking over at Mississippi State. Tennessee also headlines the non-conference slate; the Lady Vols come to Austin Dec. 13. Sandwiched in the middle is mid-week showdown against Idaho.
Four days removed from the Tennessee showdown, Texas opens its conference schedule against Kansas at home Dec. 17. It is a significantly earlier conference start than in years past.
While the conference slate might begin earlier, the Big 12 schedule will follow its typical round-robin format, with each team playing the other nine teams in the conference, once at home and once on the road.
Texas was picked to finish No. 2 in the conference in the Big 12 Coaches Poll last Thursday. Baylor, the reigning national champions, was slotted at No. 1. The Horns and Lady Bears will first clash in Waco Feb. 14, and then conclude the season in Austin with a Monday night matchup March 1.
The Big 12 Tournament is set to be held in Kansas City March 11-14, and the NCAA Tournament will begin March 19.
“I’m extremely excited about the upcoming season,” Schaefer said. “Our student-athletes have been working hard in preparation for this very difficult and challenging schedule. As always, our conference schedule will be demanding, full of Hall of Fame coaches and future Hall of Fame players at each league institution. Our non-conference schedule will prepare us for a very rigorous Big 12 Conference schedule. My staff and I, along with our student-athletes, look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”
Game times have not yet been announced.
