The University of Maine women’s basketball team likely will have its hands full trying to replace eight graduated seniors during the 2016-2017 season.
That challenge will be magnified by a difficult nonconference schedule that includes four teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last winter.
The Black Bears’ opponents will include South Carolina, Mississippi State, Chattanooga and Purdue along with Villanova, Clemson, Northeastern, Dartmouth, Tulane and Boston College.
South Carolina went 33-2 last season and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Syracuse. The Gamecocks, who finished fourth in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index, have led Division I in attendance the last two seasons, averaging 14,364 fans per game last season.
UMaine meets South Carolina on Nov. 21 in the second round of the Hall of Fame Challenge.
“We are very excited about our nonconference schedule,” sixth-year head coach Richard Barron said in a news release. “We will certainly be tested as this will be one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country. I know our fans will enjoy having such a strong field in our tipoff tournament as well. There is no question that we will be well prepared for America East play.”
Mississippi State (28-8) also advanced to the Sweet 16, losing to eventual national champion Connecticut, while Chattanooga (24-8) and Purdue (20-12) dropped first-round NCAA contests.
Most of the Black Bears’ nonleague opponents had solid seasons, including Tulane (23-12), Villanova (20-12), Bryant (18-13), Northeastern (15-16), Boston College (15-16) and Harvard (14-15). Also on the schedule are Hampton (14-17), Dartmouth (12-18), Clemson (4-26) and St. Peter’s (4-26), along with either Coppin State (16-16) or East Tennessee State (12-18).
UMaine, which shared its second straight America East regular-season title last season, reached the league championship game before settling for a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The Black Bears wound up 26-9.
UMaine plays an Oct. 30 exhibition game against Division II Stonehill, then officially kicks off the regular season with a Nov. 11 Tip-off Tournament contest against former Black Bears head coach Sharon Versyp and the Purdue Boilermakers. UMaine will try to extend its 19-game Cross Insurance Center winning streak after posting a 12-0 record on its home court last season.
Either Villanova or Mississippi State is the Nov. 12 Tip-off opponent. After traveling to Harvard on Nov. 15, the Bears travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to play St. Peter’s (Nov. 20), South Carolina (Nov. 21) and Hampton (No. 22) in the Hall of Fame Challenge. UMaine completes the tournament Nov. 27 against Chattanooga at Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Bears visit Clemson on Dec. 2 before finally returning home for games Dec. 7 (Northeastern) and Dec. 10 (Dartmouth). UMaine then travels to Bryant on Dec. 17 before heading to the Miami tournament, where the first-round foe is either Coppin State or ETSU on Dec. 19. The nonconference schedule concludes with games at Tulane and Boston College on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30, respectively.