UNT women's showdown with No. 4 Duke in San Antonio is called off two days before tipoff

The biggest game on North Texas women's basketball's early schedule is off.

UNT's neutral-site meeting with Duke, set for Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio in The Foundry Classic, was canceled Friday, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported. The university gave no specific reason.

"Due to circumstances beyond the control of the participating institutions, the scheduled women's basketball game between UNT and Duke in San Antonio will not be played," UNT said in a statement posted on the women's basketball program's X account and sent to reporters. "We look forward to hosting Houston Christian at the Super Pit on Wednesday, Nov. 11."

Requests for more detail from UNT and from the event's organizers had not been answered when the Record-Chronicle published. A guest services employee at the Frost Bank Center told the paper the arena learned of the cancellation Friday morning, was given no further explanation and was processing refunds for ticket buyers.

Duke finds another opponent

Duke, No. 4 in the AP Top 25, was already looking for a different Sunday opponent by Thursday night, USA Today Sports reported, according to the Record-Chronicle. The Blue Devils will instead play at Florida Atlantic on Sunday.

The matchup had been one of the most anticipated dates for coach Jason Burton's team. At the American Conference's media day, Burton said the Mean Green wanted to test themselves against the best competition available. "It doesn't get any better than Kara Lawson and Duke," he said then, the Record-Chronicle reported.

A long week before the home opener

The cancellation leaves UNT with nearly a week between games. The Mean Green opened their season Thursday night with a 73-57 loss at San Diego State.

The next game is the home opener against Houston Christian on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Super Pit, which the Record-Chronicle noted is a rare morning tipoff.

Sources

Denton Record-Chronicle