MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will play Ole Miss in its first Big 12/SEC Challenge on Sunday, December 4, in Morgantown, as announced by the Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences on Monday.

 

The Mountaineers and Rebels will meet for the fourth time overall and for the first time at the WVU Coliseum. The first meeting in the series took place on December 8, 1984, with No. 6 Ole Miss prevailing with an 84-72 win in Oxford. The two squads met again on December 29, 1985, with the No. 8 Rebels posting an 86-66 victory, at the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami. Most recently, WVU collected an 86-56 win over Ole Miss on November 15, 2013, in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu.

 

West Virginia finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 25-10 overall mark and a 12-6 record for a third-place finish in the Big 12. The Mountaineers reached the postseason for a 10th consecutive year and made the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history. WVU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Ohio State. Coach Mike Carey, the school’s all-time wins leader with 322 victories, returns for his 16th season.

 

Ole Miss registered a 10-20 mark overall and a 2-14 record in SEC action last season. The Rebels’ notable wins included victories over Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Matt Insell returns for his fourth season as season as head coach.

 

This season marks the first in which 10 games will be played in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The format consists of five home games on campus sites for each conference. Two teams from each league participated in the past two years with the conferences splitting the games each season for an overall 2-2 series record.

 

In 2016, games will be scheduled over the dates of Thursday-Sunday, December 1-4. Times and television designation will be released when available. Half of the contests feature at least one team that was ranked in the final 2015-16 USA Today coaches’ poll while three will highlight top 25 matchups.  

 

“We look forward to all 10 of our women’s basketball teams competing in the 2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “These marquee non-conference matchups should provide four-consecutive days of quality competition and excitement for fans across the country.”

 

“The Southeastern Conference looks forward to the expansion of an enhanced competitive event with our Big 12 friends,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “The SEC/Big 12 Challenge in women's basketball will showcase the strength and depth of our women’s basketball teams and provides fans from both conferences with exciting games.”

 

The inaugural challenge was held in 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and featured a top 5 showdown with No. 3 Texas squaring off against No. 4 Texas A&M. Oklahoma and Arkansas, who were both receiving votes, played in the second game.  The conferences split the Challenge with the two games decided by a total of nine points.

 

The 2015 version was contested in Oklahoma City with the opponents reversed as No. 5 Texas played Arkansas while No. 17 Oklahoma competed against No. 18 Texas A&M. Each league again claimed a win.

 

 

Thursday, December 1
Oklahoma at Kentucky
South Carolina at Texas

 

Friday, December 2
Auburn at Kansas State

 

Saturday, December 3
Texas Tech at Arkansas
Georgia at Oklahoma State
Mississippi State at Iowa State

 

Sunday, December 4
Kansas at Alabama
TCU at LSU
Baylor at Tennessee
Mississippi at West Virginia