Baylor Women Draw Two Huge Opponents in Non-Conference
The Baylor Bears will test themselves against two of the best teams in the country from last season, as they released their non-conference schedule on Friday.
The Bears will play eight games at home, won't play a true road game and does not have a game listed for the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
But Arizona and Maryland should provide the Bears a good measuring stick going into Big 12 action.
Arizona and Baylor will face each other on Dec. 18 in the Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge, to be played in Dallas at the American Airlines Center.
Arizona was a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season and lost in the second round to North Carolina, despite playing the game at home.
The other test is against Maryland, which comes on Nov. 20 when the Terrapins travel to the Ferrell Center, which is the last of five home games (four regular-season games) the Bears have to start the season. The Terrapins were a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season and reach the Sweet 16 before losing to Stanford.
Baylor’s season, its second under coach Nicki Collen, actually begins with an exhibition game against Southwest Baptist on Nov. 3.
After that, the Bears open the regular-season on Nov. 7 against Lamar, followed by Incarnate Word on Nov. 10, SMU on Nov. 15 and the Maryland game.
Baylor will spent Thanksgiving at the previously-announced Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., which is during the Thanksgiving break. The Bears open the event by playing Saint Louis, followed by a contest against either Belmont or Villanova. The third opponent will be determined from a pool of Michigan, Georgia Tech, South Florida and Air Force. Baylor won the tournament in 2016.
Aside from the Arizona game, the rest of Baylor's games in December are at home — Houston Baptist on Dec. 4, UT Arlington on either Dec. 6 or Dec. 7, Tennessee State on Dec. 15 and Long Beach State on Dec. 21.
The Big 12 Conference schedule has not been released.
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