LAWRENCE – The Kansas Women’s Basketball schedule was finalized Monday when the Big 12 Conference office announced the 2022-23 league schedule for women’s basketball, which tips off with Kansas playing its first of 18 conference games on New Year’s Eve.
“The Big 12 is one of the toughest conference’s nationally in women’s basketball, year-in and year-out,” Schneider said. “We expect that to be no different this year. Our team has trained and prepared all offseason and is excited for the challenges that lie ahead.”
The Jayhawks will open league play on the road at Oklahoma State on Dec. 31 before hosting Texas Tech (Jan. 4) and Baylor (Jan. 7) in the first games of 2023. The following week takes KU to Texas (Jan. 10) and Oklahoma (Jan. 14) prior to a visit from West Virginia on Jan. 18. Kansas heads to Iowa State on Jan. 21 and gets a week off before hosting Kansas State to close out the month on Jan. 29 in the first edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown, which will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Kansas hits the road to Baylor on Feb. 1 before closing out the season series against Texas on Feb. 4 at home. The Jayhawks then host TCU (Feb. 8) prior to back-to-back road trips to Texas Tech (Feb. 11) and West Virginia (Feb. 15). KU plays three of its final five games at Allen Fieldhouse, beginning with Oklahoma on Feb. 19 prior to the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Kansas State on Feb. 22. The Jayhawks then host Oklahoma State (Feb. 26) and Iowa State (March 1) before closing out league play in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 4 at TCU.
The Big 12 ranked third in the NET rankings for the 2021-22 season, with six teams from the conference qualifying for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Kansas was joined in March Madness by Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas, with each team winning at least one postseason game. The Jayhawks will play 13 regular season games against NCAA Tournament teams from last season, with two apiece against each Big 12 team along with non-conference dates against UT-Arlington, Arizona and Nebraska.
The Jayhawks will open the season on Nov. 9, against Jacksonville in what will be the first-ever matchup between the two programs. Kansas returns four starters and 11 players overall from the record-setting 2021-22 team, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament under the direction of 2022 Big 12 Coach of the Year Brandon Schneider. Now in his eighth season leading the Jayhawks, Schneider guided Kansas to a 21-10 record in 2021-22, marking the program’s first 20-win season since 2012-13.