2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchups set



Photo: SEC

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The third annual Big 12/SEC Challenge Presented by Sonic will feature 10 games played on Jan. 30, 2016, in a matchup of two premier college basketball conferences.

All 10 of the Big 12's teams and 10 of the SEC's 14 member institutions will participate in this year's event. Each of the 10 SEC teams participating in the 2016 Challenge will also play in the 2017 event.

Fourteen participating teams earned postseason berths in 2015 and nine of the 10 games will feature at least one team that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

The first two years of the challenge were played over several days in November and December but the 2016 event will be consolidated to one single day in January. A bye in the league schedule for participating teams was created to accommodate the new format. The four SEC teams not participating will play each other in conference games the same day.

Eight of the 10 games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 and two games will air on ESPNU. All 10 games will also be available via WatchESPN. ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm - the Saturday morning and evening roadshow that discusses the top storylines of the college basketball season - will originate from one of the Challenge games, to be announced at a later date.

"The ability to showcase SEC basketball in this kind of inter-conference competition makes this a unique and exciting event for our coaches, student-athletes and fans," SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said.

Start times and network designations will be announced at a later date.

2016 Big 12/SEC Challenge Presented by Sonic (January 30, 2016)

Texas Tech at Arkansas

Oklahoma State at Auburn

West Virginia at Florida

Georgia at Baylor

Kentucky at Kansas

Oklahoma at LSU

Ole Miss at Kansas State

Tennessee at TCU

Iowa State at Texas A&M

Vanderbilt at Texas