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Men's Basketball
Men's basketball unveils non-conference schedule
Aug. 16, 2008
2008-09 Non-Conference Schedule| ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Four games affiliated with the Garden State Tip-Off and a visit by Southeastern Conference (SEC) member Mississippi State to Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center highlight the early part of head coach Mark Schmidt's second season, as the 2008-09 St. Bonaventure men's basketball non-conference schedule was officially announced on Saturday. The Bonnies first four regular season games will be a part of the Garden State Tip-Off that will be hosted by Big East Conference affiliate Rutgers. Each team in the tournament will play two neutral games at Louis Brown Athletic Center on the campus of Rutgers, while also hosting a game and playing a road contest. Schmidt will lead the Brown and White against his former team to open the season as Robert Morris visits the RC on Friday, Nov. 14, for the third time in the last six seasons. The two previous meetings also served as season-openers for both teams with Schmidt manning the bench of the Colonials. The game will be part of a doubleheader with St. Bonaventure women's basketball team, who will host Binghamton at 5 p.m. St. Bonaventure will play its final three games of the Garden State Tip-Off away from the friendly confines of Bob Lanier Court, beginning with a road contest at Marist on Monday, Nov .17. Led by former Memphis assistant coach Chuck Martin, the Red Fox will be the first of four teams (Bucknell, Saint Francis (Pa.), UMES) in the Bonnies' non-conference slate that will be led by first year head coaches. The final weekend of the Tip-Off will be held in Piscataway, N.J., as the Brown and White take on Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) member Delaware on Friday, Nov. 21. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. St. Bonaventure will conclude its stay against host Rutgers on Sunday, Nov. 23. The game will be the 39th meeting between St. Bonaventure and the Scarlet Knights, but just the first since Rutgers was a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Bonnies will have little time for rest as they'll have just two days to prepare for their second consecutive BCS opponent in Mississippi State (Tuesday, Nov. 25). The SEC's defending Western Division champs, the Bulldogs are fresh-off an NCAA appearance that yielded an opening win over Oregon and a four-point loss to eventual tournament runner-up Memphis. The contest will mark the first time in program history St. Bonaventure has hosted an SEC school and the first time a BCS school has visited the Reilly Center since Southern Cal did so in 1999. A return to HSBC Arena for a Little 3 bout against Canisius will end a hectic November for the Bonnies. The Saturday, Nov. 29, meeting will be St. Bonaventure's sixth game in 16 days to start the season and first visit to HSBC since 2004, when they took on the Griffs. The Bonnies have taken two of the last three meeting since that game and own a 94-62 edge in the all-time series. A much-needed three-game homestand starts the month of December for the Brown and White as Princeton (Dec. 6) and Maryland Eastern Shore visit the Reilly Center on consecutive Saturdays. Saint Francis (Pa.) concludes the home start to a slower-paced month on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.
St. Bonaventure will leave the state of New York for the first time in nearly a month when it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich. on Saturday, Dec. 20, to take on Eastern Michigan. The Bonnies will look to avenge a three-point loss to the Eagles at the Reilly Center last season. Little 3 rival Niagara will represent the final non-conference home game for the Brown and White as the annual battle will take place just two days before Christmas on Tuesday, Dec. 23. The 149th meeting will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Bob Lanier Court. The Purple Eagles have owned the series as of late, taking five in a row, but are just 7-24 all-time at the Reilly Center. St. Bonaventure will return to game action a week later on Dec. 30, as it travels to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell. Just two years removed from winning back-to-back Patriot League titles, the Bison will begin a new era of basketball under head coach Dave Paulsen, who takes over for Pat Flannery. The team's final non-conference tune up before the A-10 season will be on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Central Arkansas. The Bonnies and Bears met for the first time in 2006, with the home Brown and White coming out on top in overtime. The Atlantic 10 Conference portion of the schedule will be released in September. St. Bonaventure will host Charlotte, Duquesne, Fordham, La Salle, Massachusetts, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis and Xavier, but the dates have not been announced. The Bonnies are now travel partners with Duquesne, Fordham and Saint Joseph's, meaning they will play a home-and-home with each of those teams. NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Opponents Combined Road Record (2007-08): 32-56 (.364 PCT)
Opponents Combined Home Record (2007-08): 45-27 (.625 PCT)
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