Sooners release men’s, women’s conference basketball schedule
NORMAN — Both the University of Oklahoma men’s and women’s Big 12 basketball schedule was announced Tuesday.
NORMAN — Both the University of Oklahoma men’s and women’s Big 12 basketball schedule was announced Tuesday.
The OU men will face conference newcomers Brigham Young University, Houston and Central Florida once while playing a home-and-away series against Cincinnati.
OU will host Iowa State (Jan. 6), West Virginia (Jan. 17), Texas (Jan. 23), Texas Tech (Jan. 27), BYU (Feb. 6), Oklahoma State (Feb. 10), Kansas (Feb. 17), Houston (March 2) and Cincinnati (March 5). OU will make trips to Texas Christian University (Jan. 10), Kansas (Jan. 13), Cincinnati (Jan. 20), Kansas State (Jan. 30), UCF (Feb. 3), Baylor (Feb. 13), OSU (Feb. 24), Iowa State (Feb. 28) and Texas (March 9).
All 18 games will be on the ESPN family of networks, including 11 games on ESPN+. The Sooners’ home contest against Kansas on Feb. 17 and away outing against Texas on March 9 will be aired on ESPN. OU’s away games at TCU on Jan. 10 and Baylor on Feb. 13 will be broadcast on ESPN2 or ESPNU. OU’s home contest against Texas on Jan. 23 and away outing at OSU on Feb. 24 will be aired on ESPN or ESPN2. The Sooners meeting with Houston on March 2 will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Before the 2023-24 season, the Sooners faced each conference member twice in an 18-game schedule.
For the first time since moving to an 18-game conference slate, the OU women will not play every conference member twice as the league expands to 14 teams in 2023-24. The Sooners will play nine home games and nine road games, matching up with five teams twice and playing the remaining eight schools once each for 18 conference games. The upcoming campaign will be OU’s 49th at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
In head coach Jennie Baranczyk’s third season, the OU women opens league play on Dec. 30 in Norman vs. Big 12 newcomer UCF. It’s the first of a threegame set versus new members to the league, as the Sooners then travel to BYU on Jan. 3, followed by a home contest vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 6) at Lloyd Noble Center.
The team’s seven remaining home games occur on Jan. 13 vs. Texas Tech, Jan. 27 vs. Kansas, Jan. 31 vs. Kansas State, Feb. 7 vs. TCU, Feb. 14 vs. Baylor, Feb. 24 vs. OSU and Feb. 28 vs. Texas.
OU’s remaining Big 12 road games will be Jan. 10 at Kansas State, Jan. 20 at Houston, Jan. 24 at Texas, Feb. 3 at OSU, Feb. 10 at Iowa State, Feb. 17 at West Virginia, Feb. 20 at Cincinnati and March 2 at Kansas.
In 2022-23, the Sooners went 14-4 in Big 12 play to win the program’s first conference championship since 2009. The 2022-23 season concluded with 90 percent of Big 12 teams finishing with winning records, a feat no other league has accomplished since the formation of the Big 12 Conference (prior to the 199697 season). A nation-leading 60 percent of Big 12 squads were selected to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including the Sooners.
For the first time, the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship will be March 7-12 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., after a three-year stint at Municipal Auditorium.
The OU women’s season opens Nov. 6 when it plays host to Wichita State at Lloyd Noble Center.
