June 1, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – The matchups for the 2012 SEC/Big East Challenge were announced on Friday, which includes an Ole Miss home game against Rutgers on Dec. 1.

The Rebels and Scarlet Knights have never faced each other in men’s basketball.

The Southeastern Conference will match up against the Big East Conference for 12 games over three days in late November and early December for the SEC/Big East Challenge. Six of the games will be played at SEC home arenas while six will be played at home facilities for Big East schools. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 12 games of the three-day event.

This is the sixth year that the SEC and Big East have played each other as a part of an in-season event. Previously known as the SEC/Big East Invitational, the first four years of the event (2007-2010) featured four matchups between the two conferences from two neutral sites. The 12-team event was titled the Big East/SEC Challenge in 2011.

In last year’s Challenge, Ole Miss beat DePaul in Chicago 70-68 on Murphy Holloway’s game-winning shot with three seconds left. Ole Miss also played in the event in December 2008, when the Rebels fell to Louisville in Cincinnati.

2012 SEC/BIG EAST CHALLENGE
(times and networks are to be determined)

Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Carolina at St. John's
Seton Hall at LSU
Kentucky at Notre Dame
Marquette at Florida

Friday, November 30, 2012
Georgia at South Florida
DePaul at Auburn
Tennessee at Georgetown
Syracuse at Arkansas

Saturday, December 1, 2012
Mississippi State at Providence
Rutgers at Ole Miss
Alabama at Cincinnati
Villanova at Vanderbilt