MORGANTOWN —
Playing basketball in the Big 12 is different from playing in the Big East, and it’s not just that you are playing Texas instead of Georgetown and Kansas instead of Syracuse.
That became evident on Thursday when West Virginia University released its first Big 12 basketball schedule.
First of all, there are no noon or 7 p.m. tipoffs in the games whose times have been released, which means more staying up late and more sleeping in. There are, however, five 9 p.m. weekday road games, which means the basketball team will have a lot of all-nighters getting home.
And, for all the talk about national coverage in the Big East, WVU has 19 national games this season, which is believed to be the most all-time.
Eleven of those games will be Big 12 games, including Kansas, Texas and at Kansas State on ESPN’s Big Monday. There also are a pair of CBS games, although neither are out of the Coliseum, being at Purdue and at Kansas.
“This schedule is very competitive from start to finish, and I know our fans will enjoy watching us on the court as we enter our first season in the Big 12 Conference,” athletic director Oliver Luck said in a release. “We are delighted to have 19 games already selected for national television to showcase our basketball program and our great university. Coach (Bob) Huggins has coached in the Big 12 before, and I know he and his guys are looking forward to getting the season tipped off.”
The regular season tips off at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Gonzaga, while the first Big 12 game played by WVU will be against Oklahoma in the Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 4 p.m.
The WVU women, whose schedule also has been released, play their first Big 12 game on Jan. 2 at Oklahoma while playing the initial Big 12 game at the Coliseum on Jan. 5 against Kansas.
“This year, like every year, we’re looking forward to the home-court atmosphere,” coach Mike Carey said in the announcement. “The Big 12 Conference is a challenging league with a lot of teams who have gained experience in the postseason. One thing that remains true around the conference is the fan support, so games will be exciting both at home and on the road.”
The Big 12 set the bar high as the nation’s women’s basketball attendance leader last season. Averaging 5,304 fans per game, the league totaled 959,993 in attendance amongst its 10 teams. The Big Ten Conference averaged 4,128 fans per game, while the Southeastern, Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences rounded out the top five highest attendance averages.
WVU’s nationally televised men’s games this season will be Gonzaga (ESPN), Virginia Tech (ESPN2), Michigan (ESPN), Oakland (ESPNU), at Texas (ESPN2), at Iowa State (ESPN2), Purdue (CBS), TCU (ESPN2), at Oklahoma State (ESPNU), Kansas (ESPN), Texas (ESPN), at Baylor (ESPN2), at Kansas State (ESPN), Oklahoma State (ESPN2), at Kansas (CBS) and at Oklahoma (ESPN2). WVU’s three games in the Old Spice Classic will be televised by either ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, including the opening game against Marist on ESPN2.
“I know I say this every year, but top to bottom, this has to be one of the toughest regular-season schedules in school history,” Huggins said. “We have ranked in the top 20 in terms of strength of schedule in each of the last four years, including two years where we were ranked in the top three, and this year’s schedule will be no different. To have 19 of our 31 games already selected for national television is something our basketball program is proud of and certainly proud to be able to showcase our university and the great state of West Virginia.
“I’ve spent a year in the Big 12, and the fan support is tremendous. I think the Big 12 has the best home court advantages in college basketball in addition to having great coaches. I was sitting at the Big 12 meetings in the spring and looking around and we had 10 coaches there and five of them have been to the Final Four. When 50 percent of your coaches have been to the Final Four, you have a pretty good league.”
Sports
WVU basketball schedules set
Men to have 19 games on national TV
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