The 2017-18 Southeastern Conference women’s basketball schedule was released by the league office.
Conference play will begin on Sunday, December 31, when Florida plays at Auburn and run through Sunday, February 25, when the Gators play at Georgia.
The December 31 opener is Florida’s earliest in league action since Dec. 16, 1995, when the Gators defeated Kentucky, 69-46, in Orlando.
Overall Toughness
- Last year, 10 of the 14 SEC teams competed in the postseason, with eight in the NCAA Tournament that included both national finalists.
- Florida will play nine SEC games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams and three versus postseason WNIT teams.
- Combined with their non-conference slate, the Gators will play 13 games against teams that competed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament and an additional five against 2017 postseason WNIT squads – that’s a combine total of 18 games against programs that competed in the postseason last year.
Florida’s SEC HOME Schedule
- Thu., Jan. 4 vs. Alabama
- Thu., Jan. 11 vs. Kentucky
- Sun., Jan. 14 vs. LSU
- Sun., Jan. 21 vs. Ole Miss
- Sun., Jan. 28 vs. Georgia
- Thu., Feb. 8 vs. Mississippi State
- Sun., Feb. 18 vs. Vanderbilt
- Thu., Feb. 22 vs. Tennessee
Florida’s SEC AWAY Schedule
- Sun., Dec. 31 at Auburn
- Sun., Jan. 7 at Ole Miss
- Thu., Jan. 18 at Arkansas
- Thu., Jan. 25 at Mississippi State
- Mon., Feb. 5 at Missouri (SEC Network)
- Sun., Feb. 11 at South Carolina
- Thu., Feb. 15 at Texas A&M
- Sun., Feb. 25 at Georgia
Coach Cameron Newbauer on the SEC Schedule
- “It’s great to see the entire schedule ahead of us for the season and the many challenges we will face. With the release of the SEC schedule we understand fully that it will be a marathon conference season in which we will need to take it one day at a time. We have arguably the best teams in the nation in this league. Day in and day out, at home or on the road, each game will present different obstacles that we look forward to begin preparing.â€
The Skinny on the SEC Schedule
- The schedule consists of a single round robin (10 games) and home and away with one permanent opponent (2 games) and two rotating opponents (4 games).
- The permanent opponents are Alabama-Auburn, Arkansas-Missouri, Florida-Georgia, Kentucky-South Carolina, LSU-Texas A&M, Ole Miss-Mississippi State, and Tennessee-Vanderbilt.
- Each team will play eight home games and eight away games.
- The rotating opponents changes annually. This season, Florida plays Ole Miss, 2017 NCAA Runner-Up Mississippi State and Georgia twice.
- This marks the ninth year of the 16-game schedule for women’s basketball and the sixth with 14 teams.
SEC Initiative
- During the week of January 21-28, SEC member institutions will participate in the seventh annual “We Back Pat†Week.
- The week-long initiative is focused on bringing awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation, and its fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
2018 SEC Tournament
- The regular season concludes with the 2018 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament being held for the sixth time at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
- The tournament will include all 14 teams and begins on Wednesday, February 28; and concludes with the championship game on Sunday, March 4.
Flashback
- Last season, South Carolina won the SEC regular-season and tournament titles before capturing the program’s first NCAA championship.
- Mississippi State was NCAA runner-up, also falling to the Gamecocks in the SEC Tournament final.
- Florida finished tied for 11th in the league standings with a 5-11 conference record.
TV Schedule and Times
- The women’s basketball television schedule will be announced at a later date, as will times for all games.
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