WACO, Texas — Baylor will get its re-match with Sweet 16 foe Villanova in December.
On Wednesday, June 2, Baylor announced it will host the Wildcats as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 at the Ferrell Center in Waco.
It will be the third-straight season the two teams have faced off, but the first to come on-campus. In November 2019, they met in the championship game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational and in March 2021, they played inside Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during the NCAA Tournament.
Under Scott Drew the Bears are 12-1 against current members of the Big East Conference, with the lone loss coming at Xavier in the 2017-18 season. Baylor is also a Big 12-best 11-2 all-time in conference challenges, sitting at 7-1 in the Big 12-SEC Challenge after going 3-1 in the Big 12-Pac 10 Hardwood Series and beating Butler in the inaugural Big 12-Big East Battle.
This year's Big 12-Big East Battle will also feature a matchup at a new arena in the greater New York City area:
- Texas Tech at Providence on Dec. 1
- Kansas vs. St. John's at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. on Dec. 2
- Iowa State at Creighton on Dec. 4
- Xavier at Oklahoma State on Dec. 5
- Butler at Oklahoma on Dec. 7
- Marquette at Kansas State on Dec. 8
- UConn at West Virginia on Dec. 8
- Texas at Seton Hall on Dec. 9
- Villanova at Baylor on Dec. 12
- TCU at Georgetown on Dec. 18
Baylor could return as many as eight scholarship players from its 2021 national championship run and every player on the coming 2021-22 roster will have a minimum of two years of eligibility remaining.
In the 2020-21 season, Baylor was scheduled to play at Seton Hall in this challenge, but the game was canceled after Drew's positive COVID-19 test which also forced the Bears out of the Empire Classic at "BubbleVille" in Connecticut.
Tip times and TV broadcast information hasn't yet been announced for these games.