Top Women’s Basketball Teams on ESPN’s 2013 Big Monday Schedule

Rachel Margolis Siegal

August 16, 2012

Schedule includes three 2012 Final Four participants

ESPN2’s Big Monday presented by Bud Light schedule – showcasing the best Division I women’s basketball programs in the nation – features 10 games over seven consecutive weeks, highlighted by three February doubleheaders, in the seventh year of the game-of-the-week series. The slate of games, all on ESPN2, tip off on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan 21, at 7 p.m. ET with early season favorites – No. 3 Duke at No. 2 Connecticut.

All games will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com and through smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

Schedule Highlights

All 13 teams in the Big Monday schedule are 2012 NCAA Championship participants, including three Final Four teams – Baylor, Connecticut and Notre Dame.
The month of February features three straight weeks of doubleheaders at 7 & 9 p.m., beginning on Feb. 4 with Purdue at Penn State and Texas A&M at LSU.
The Feb. 18 doubleheader featuring Kentucky at Texas A&M and Baylor at Connecticut are part of the annual Play 4Kay campaign.
ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC programs will make-up this year’s schedule.
Defending national champion Baylor will make two appearances against potential top-10 teams – at Connecticut on Feb. 18 and at Oklahoma on Feb. 25.
BIG EAST foes Connecticut and Notre Dame will each have three games on the schedule, including a season-ending matchup in South Bend, Ind., on March 4.

Team Highlights

Twelve teams are ranked in an early preseason poll by ESPN.com columnist Charlie Creme, including No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 11 Louisville, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 17 Texas A&M, No. 18 Purdue and No. 21 Tennessee.
The Big Monday slate features two of the most touted women’s basketball seniors in the nation – 2012 consensus national player of the year Baylor senior Brittney Griner and Notre Dame senior All-American Skylar Diggins.
Five returning WBCA Coaches’ All-America Team members – Baylor’s Griner and junior Odyssey Sims, Notre Dame’s Diggins, Connecticut junior Bria Hartley and Maryland junior Alyssa Thomas.

ESPN Women’s Basketball Big Monday presented by Bud Light schedule (subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Jan 21	7 p.m.	Duke at Connecticut	ESPN2
Jan 28	7 p.m.	Notre Dame at Tennessee	ESPN2
Feb 4	7 p.m.	Purdue at Penn State	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	Texas A&M at LSU	ESPN2
Feb 11	7 p.m.	Maryland at Duke	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	Louisville at Notre Dame	ESPN2
Feb 18	7 p.m.	Play 4Kay: Kentucky at Texas A&M	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	Play 4Kay: Baylor at Connecticut	ESPN2
Feb 25	7 p.m.	Baylor at Oklahoma	ESPN2
Mar 4	7 p.m.	Connecticut at Notre Dame	ESPN2