Women's Basketball Big 12 Slate Announced - WVU Football, WVU Basketball, News - Mountaineer Sports

West Virginia University Director of Athletics Oliver Luck and the Big 12 Conference have announced the 2012-13 women's basketball schedule today.

"There is a lot of excitement in store for West Virginia women's basketball as the Big 12 is an extremely competitive league," Luck says. "I'm looking forward to having Big 12 opponents here at the Coliseum, knowing Mountaineer fans will be welcoming and will enjoy the game day atmosphere the competition will offer."

The schedule format is round robin, with each opponent in the 10-team league slated for a home-and-home series. The Mountaineers will face their first Big 12 team on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at Oklahoma. Last season Oklahoma experienced its largest increase in attendance from the previous season as its average increased by 1,362 fans, the largest improvement in the Big 12 and fourth-largest increase nationally. WVU's first home Big 12 contest is set for Saturday, Jan. 5 against Kansas.

 "This year, like every year, we're looking forward to the home-court atmosphere," coach Mike Carey says. "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 plays host to Texas on Jan. 9 before traveling to the Bramlage Coliseum to take on Kansas State in the first-ever meeting between the teams on Jan. 12. Also new to the league this season, TCU will play at the Coliseum for the first time in program history on Jan. 16.

Saturday, Jan. 19, WVU will travel to the Ferrell Center to take on last year's national champions in Baylor. Texas Tech and Iowa State are other first-time opponents to the Coliseum as WVU plays host to each respective team on Jan. 22 and 26.

WVU will then travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State on Jan. 29 and will play host to Oklahoma on Feb. 2, prior to a pair of road games at Texas Tech and Kansas on Feb. 6 and 9, respectively. Oklahoma State will play WVU at the Coliseum on Feb. 13 and WVU will travel to Iowa State on Feb. 16.

The Mountaineers close out February with games at TCU on Feb. 23 and at home against Kansas State on Feb. 26. The final two regular-season games will be at home against Baylor on March 2 and at Texas on March 5.

The women's basketball Big 12 Championship is set for March 8-11 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Times will be released at a later date.

The complete 2012-13 WVU women's basketball schedule is as follows:

Day                  Date                 Opponent                              Site                                      Location

Wednesday       Oct. 31             Concord (Exh.)                       WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Friday               Nov.9               UNC Wilmington                     WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Monday            Nov. 12             Boston University                   Case Gym                            Boston, Mass.

Saturday           Nov. 17             USC Upstate                          WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Friday               Nov. 23             at FIU Thanksgiving Classic    U.S. Century Bank Arena       Miami, Fla.

Sunday             Nov. 25             at FIU Thanksgiving Classic    U.S. Century Bank Arena       Miami, Fla.

Sunday             Dec. 2              at Virginia                              John Paul Jones Arena         Charlottesville, Va.

Tuesday            Dec. 4              vs. Marshall +                        Charleston Civic Center         Charleston

Saturday           Dec. 8              St. Bonaventure                     WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Sunday             Dec. 16             at Youngstown State              Beeghly Center                     Youngstown, Ohio

Thursday           Dec. 20             Duquesne                              WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Friday               Dec. 28             Appalachian State                  WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Wednesday       Jan. 2               at Oklahoma                          Lloyd Noble Center               Norman, Okla.

Saturday           Jan. 5               Kansas                                  WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Wednesday       Jan. 9               Texas                                    WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Saturday           Jan. 12             at Kansas State                      Bramlage Coliseum               Manhattan, Kan.

Wednesday       Jan. 16             TCU                                       WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Saturday           Jan. 19             at Baylor                                Ferrell Center                        Waco, Texas

Tuesday            Jan. 22             Texas Tech                            WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Saturday           Jan. 26             Iowa State                              WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Tuesday            Jan. 29             at Oklahoma State                  Gallagher-Iba Arena               Stillwater, Okla.

Saturday           Feb. 2               Oklahoma                              WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Wednesday       Feb. 6               at Texas Tech                         United Spirit Arena                Lubbock, Texas

Saturday           Feb. 9               at Kansas                              Allen Fieldhouse                   Lawrence, Kan.

Wednesday       Feb. 13             Oklahoma State                     WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Saturday           Feb. 16             at Iowa State                          Hilton Coliseum                    Ames, Iowa

Saturday           Feb. 23             at TCU                                   Daniel Meyer Coliseum          Fort Worth, Texas

Tuesday            Feb. 26             Kansas State                         WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Saturday           March 2            Baylor                                    WVU Coliseum                     Morgantown

Tuesday            March 5            at Texas                                 Frank Erwin Center                Austin, Texas

Fri.-Mon.           March 8-11        Big 12 Championship             American Airlines Center        Dallas, Texas

+ Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic

All dates are subject to change