ARLINGTON, Texas -- The University of Texas at Arlington men's basketball coach Scott Cross announced the Mavericks 2012-13 schedule on Thursday, the first full season in the team's new home - the College Park Center.
The Mavericks played only four home games in their new 7,000-seat arena last February as they finished off the season with a perfect home record in conference play en route to winning the conference title.
UT Arlington open at CPC with the annual Homecoming game against Big 12 opponent Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 16. The Sooners will be making their first visit to the UT Arlington campus as the teams have met five times previously in Norman.
"Playing in the College Park Center last season was an unbelievable experience for all of us," Cross said. "We are looking forward to a full season in the building and with our home schedule the way it is, I am looking forward to playing before the same great crowds that we had last year."
That game will mark the first time UT Arlington will play a Big 12 opponent at home. Current Big 12 members Oklahoma State and TCU have each played at UT Arlington in the 1970's and 1980's, long before the Big 12 was established in 1994.
The Mavericks will play 14 home games but the season will get started on the road at Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Nov. 9 before they return home to host Oklahoma. UTA will then hit the road for four games, which will include contests at Samford (Nov. 24), North Texas (Nov. 28), Texas (Dec. 1) and UT Pan American (Dec. 3).
The Mavs return home to face Houston Baptist on Thursday, Dec. 13 before finishing the month at Oklahoma State (Dec. 19).
The Mavericks will then come back to the CPC for a four-game homestand that will feature the program's first-ever Western Athletic Conference games. UTA opens the conference season by hosting New Mexico State on Saturday, Dec. 29 and then Denver on Monday, Dec. 31. The Mavericks host Boise State on Jan. 2 in a non-conference game before hosting Louisiana Tech on Jan. 5 to finish the homestand.
The Mavericks will host two more non-conference games in February as they will play UT Pan American on Feb. 20 and will take part in ESPN's annual Bracket Busters game on Feb. 23. The opponent for that game will be announced in late January.
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament is scheduled for March 13-16 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
All home games are scheduled for 7 p.m. with the exception of the Dec. 31 Denver game which will start at 2 p.m. All start times are subject to change.
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