BIG EAST Announces Women's Basketball Home/Away Schedule
May 23 | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, RI - The BIG EAST Conference has announced the home/away opponents for the 2005-2006 women's basketball season. Each team will play a 16-game schedule, playing one opponent in a home-and-home series, while facing each of the 14 other league members once (either home or away). The schedule results in eight home games and eight road contests for each BIG EAST member.
Rutgers, ranked seventh in the final WBCA/ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll, will play Connecticut twice, facing off in Piscataway and on the Huskies' home court. The Scarlet Knights advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the best finish for a BIG EAST team last season. UConn, ranked 10th in the final WBCA/ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of last season's NCAA Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights' seven other home opponents will be DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse and Villanova. Both DePaul and Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers will play road games against Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, South Florida and West Virginia.
As of July 1, the BIG EAST Conference will grow to a 16-member league with the additions of Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida.
Rutgers posted a 28-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in BIG EAST Conference play last season, winning its first outright BIG EAST regular-season title and advancing to its second consecutive BIG EAST Tournament championship game.
