FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ full 26-game women’s basketball schedule has been released for the 2020-21 season.
The Razorbacks’ nonconference schedule features five home games, three games on a neutral floor in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla., and a pair of December road games at SMU and Arkansas-Little Rock.
Arkansas is scheduled to open its season at home Nov. 25 against Oral Roberts at 11 a.m.
Mike Neighbors and the Razorbacks are also scheduled to host Louisiana Monroe on Dec. 3; No. 4 Baylor on Dec. 6 as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge; Central Arkansas on Dec. 13; and Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 21.
“Challenging your team with an appropriate schedule is always a priority,” Neighbors said in a release. “Every year it’s a complex puzzle. Factor in the challenges of covid-19 protocols and it’s like building a 1,000-piece puzzle without knowing what the picture looks like. On top of that, it feels like every day you begin where you left off, and someone has hidden the pieces."
Arkansas is scheduled to open Southeastern Conference play Dec. 31 at Kentucky. The Razorbacks have home-only games scheduled against Florida, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama, and home-and-home dates with Missouri, Texas A&M and Auburn.
Arkansas will play the Wildcats, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and LSU only on the road.
The Razorbacks will begin this season firmly in the top 25. They came in at No. 14 in the Associated Press preseason top 25 that was released last week.
It is the highest Arkansas has been ranked in a preseason poll since the Razorbacks were No. 10 in 1995-96.
The Razorbacks finished 2019-20 at 24-8 overall, 10-6 in SEC play and ranked No. 24 in the final AP poll of the season.
Arkansas returns three of its top four scorers in Chelsea Dungee (16.9 points per game), Amber Ramirez (14.7) and Makayla Daniels (9.3), and added graduate transfer Destiny Slocum — an All-Pac-12 guard from Oregon State — in April.
Arkansas’ 2020-21 basketball schedule
Nov. 25 - Oral Roberts (11 a.m.)
Nov. 27 - Wake Forest^ (10:30 a.m.)
Nov. 28 - Florida Gulf Coast^ (1:30 p.m.)
Nov. 29 - Maryland^ (4:30 p.m.)
Dec. 3 - Louisiana Monroe (7 p.m.)
Dec. 6 - Baylor^^ (2 p.m.)
Dec. 9 - at SMU (7 p.m.)
Dec. 13 - Central Arkansas (2 p.m.)
Dec. 19 - at Arkansas-Little Rock (2 p.m.)
Dec. 21 - Arkansas-Pine Bluff (TBA)
Dec. 31 - at Kentucky
Jan. 3 - Missouri
Jan. 7 - at Tennessee
Jan. 10 - Texas A&M
Jan. 14 - Florida
Jan. 18 - at South Carolina
Jan. 25 - at Georgia
Jan. 28 - Vanderbilt
Jan. 31 - Auburn
Feb. 4 - at Missouri
Feb. 11 - Mississippi State
Feb. 14 - at Texas A&M
Feb. 18 - Ole Miss
Feb. 21 - at LSU
Feb. 25 - at Auburn
Feb. 28 - Alabama
^ — Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla.
^^ — Big 12/SEC Challenge