UA WOMEN’S home date with Baylor set.
It’s now official. The defending national champion Baylor Bears will visit Walton Arena this season.
No. 14 Arkansas will host No. 6 Baylor on Sunday, Dec. 6. The game, part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge, is slated to tip at 2 p.m.
University of Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said the Razorbacks originally weren’t supposed to participate in the
Bi g 1 2 - S EC Challenge this year, but circumstances changed.
Hosting Baylor is validation for the players he has recruited to Arkansas, Neighbors said.
“It’s the type of game we promised these kids when we were talking to them and asking them to come here,” he said.
“You sit in those living rooms and you ask them to envision playing in those type of games here. Now we have evidence. It’s not just talk.”
Neighbors had hoped to break the single-game attendance record under normal circumstances, but that won’t happen with the limit of 4,000 set at Walton Arena because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a great game for our fans,” Neighbors said. “We owe it to them. They’ve helped build a great atmosphere here. And even with the reduced number, I know it’s gonna be a great atmosphere.”
That game stands out in the 10-game nonconference portion of the schedule, which was released Monday. The Razorbacks start the season with a bang, playing four games in five days. They open by hosting Oral Roberts at 11 a.m. on Nov. 25.
Arkansas will also take on No. 12 Maryland as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla., on Nov. 29. That will be the last of three games in three days, beginning against Wake Forest and then Florida Gulf Coast.
The Arkansas-Florida Gulf Coast matchup will be a clash of two of the top three-point shooting teams in the country. Florida Gulf Coast led Division I last year, averaging 12 made three-pointers per game, while Arkansas ranked fifth with 9.8.
Neighbors acknowledged putting together a schedule in the midst of a pandemic has been challenging, and he specifically credited assistant coach Todd Schaefer.
“Our testing policies have changed three or four times in the last month,” Neighbors said. “It was literally a moving target every day. But if you look at it after everyone’s schedule comes out, it’s going to be as good as anybody in the country. Now, I hope we get to play it.
“Are the plans we made good enough to get through it? The term that resonated with me is limit your environments. For example, we’re gonna do some travel day of the game, eliminate a hotel and eliminate eating a restaurant.
“The things we’re considering in this pandemic season are things that have never crossed your mind in the past.”
Arkansas will play five games against teams that have won a national championship, and seven against teams ranked in The Associated Press preseason Top 25.
Neighbors credited his players for their resolve to keep teammates and coaches safe during this difficult time.
“I’m really proud of the huge sacrifices for their teammates,” Neighbors said. They’ve given up holiday trips, weddings, funerals in order to make sure everyone stays safe. Many of them are often maligned for going out and experiencing college life.
“They’ve made some pretty big sacrifices. I know one bad story often overshadows a thousand good ones.”
Arkansas also will play three in-state opponents, hosting the University of Central Arkansas (Dec. 13) and University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 21), then traveling to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Dec. 19.
The Razorbacks open SEC play Dec. 31 at No. 11 Kentucky.
They will play three ranked teams in their first six games.