GREENSBORO, NC - UNC Greensboro men's basketball coach Mike Dement unveiled Thursday his team's 2008-09 schedule, which includes a return to the Greensboro Coliseum among its 12 home contests.
The Spartans will host Davidson at the Coliseum on Thursday night, Feb. 5. UNCG last played at the Coliseum two years ago when it hosted Virginia Tech. It will be the third time in the last four years that UNCG will play a game in the Coliseum.
"We are happy to be able to face Davidson in such a great venue this coming season," said Dement, who returns 12 players for the 2008-09 season. "Obviously, after the incredible run they had in the tournament last March, Davidson is going to be a big draw in a lot of places. We, too, want our fans to pack the house for what we hope will be a great night of basketball at the Coliseum."
UNCG will open the season on Friday, Nov. 14 at Charlotte. The Spartans will face Webber International in their home opener on Nov. 17. After trips to Central Arkansas and North Carolina State on the following two weekends (Nov. 22 and 30, respectively), UNCG will open conference play at home on Dec. 4 against The Citadel at 7 pm.
The remainder of the month of December is no easy task as it has UNCG hosting College of Charleston on December 6 as part of a doubleheader, traveling to East Carolina (Dec. 13), Kent State (Dec. 18) and Dayton (Dec. 20), and then returning back to Fleming Gym to face Akron on Dec. 31. In fact, the East Carolina game begins a stretch of seven out of nine away from the friendly confines of Fleming.
"The schedule has its share of challenges, there is no question about it," said Dement. "We face teams from the Atlantic 10, the ACC, Conference USA and the Mid-American, which makes up six of our nine non-conference games. It is no secret that we graduated the best player in our program's history and one of the best in the history of the Southern Conference in Kyle Hines. We'll have our work cut out for us.
"However, so much of what we do in the non-conference is to prepare for our conference play and those four days in March for the NCAA automatic bid."
UNCG will begin the new year at historic Jadwin Gym taking on Princeton on Jan. 3, followed by a weekend road swing to Western Carolina and Appalachian State on Jan. 8 and 10. The Spartans come home to face Georgia Southern on Jan. 15 and then head up the interstate to face backyard rival Elon on Jan. 17.
The Spartans, who return starters Mikko Koivisto and Ben Stywall along with last year's key reserves Pete Brown, Landon Clement, Daniel Oliver and Kendall Toney, will play five home games in the month of February, beginning with the Davidson game at the Coliseum. UNCG will also host Wofford, Appalachian State, Western Carolina and Elon in February.
The Southern Conference Tournament will be played at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, TN, on March 6-9.
Season tickets for UNCG home games will go on sale Tuesday, September 2 through the UNCG Athletics Ticket Office. Spartan Spirit season ticket packages for men's basketball are available for $120 for adults and $95 for youth and seniors with accompanying Spartan Club membership. A limited number of MVP Courtside tickets are available for $450 per seat with a minimum of two in the purchase a qualifying Spartan Club membership required. Additional ticket information may be obtained on the Web at www.uncgspartans.com or by calling 336-334-3250.
Single-game tickets will go on sale Oct. 1. Information and pricing of tickets for the Davidson game will be released prior to the Oct. 1 sale date.
AGATE
2008-09 UNCG Men's Basketball Schedule (subject to change for television; *denotes SoCon game): Oct. 25 Blue-Gold Scrimmage, 5 pm; Nov. 14 at Charlotte, 8 pm; Nov. 17 Webber International, 7 pm; No. 22 at Central Arkansas, 7:30 pm; Nov. 30 at North Carolina State, 2 pm; Dec. 4 *The Citadel, 7 pm; Dec. 6. *College of Charleston (DH) 5:30 pm; Dec. 13 at East Carolina, 7 pm; Dec. 18 at Kent State, 7 pm; Dec. 20 at Dayton, 7 pm; Dec. 31 Akron, 2 pm; Jan. 3 at Princeton, 2 pm; Jan. 8 at *Western Carolina, 7 pm; Jan. 10 at *Appalachian State, 3:30 pm; Jan. 15 *Georgia Southern 7 pm; Jan. 17 at *Elon, TBA; Jan. 22 *Chattanooga, 7 pm; Jan. 24 *Samford, 2 pm; Jan. 26 at *Furman, 7 pm; Jan. 29 at *College of Charleston, TBA; Jan. 31 at *The Citadel, 7 pm; Feb. 5 *Davidson (at Greensboro Coliseum), 7 pm; Feb. 7 at *Georgia Southern, 7:30 pm; Feb. 9 *Wofford, 7 pm; Feb. 12 at *Samford, 8 pm; Feb. 14 at *Chattanooga 7 pm; Feb. 19 *Appalachian State 7 pm; Feb. 21 *Western Carolina, 3 pm; Feb. 25 at *Davidson 7 pm; Feb. 28 *Elon (DH), 5:30 pm; March 6-9 at Southern Conference Tournament (Chattanooga, TN), TBA.
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