University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Announces 2015-2016 Schedule
10.19.2015 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – An opening game at Tennessee, an invitation to the prestigious Great Alaska Shootout plus nine Big South Conference home games highlights the 2015-16 UNC Asheville men's basketball schedule announced today by third-year coach Nick McDevitt.
Asheville plays one exhibition contest and it will be at Kimmel Arena against Brevard on Nov. 7. The Bulldogs will then travel over the mountains to open the regular season at Tennessee on Nov. 13 before making the trek to regional foe Western Carolina two days later on Nov. 15.
The Bulldogs' first regular season home game will come on Nov. 18 against Mars Hill before they embark on a 10-day trip to the Great Alaska Shootout, complete with a stop at Texas A&M on Nov. 21. Asheville will play three games in Alaska, beginning bracket play on Thanksgiving night against Drexel.
In addition to Drexel and the Bulldogs, the Shootout field also includes: tournament-host Alaska Anchorage, Loyola Chicago, Middle Tennessee, San Diego, San Jose State and Toledo.
Returning from Alaska, Asheville will welcome Johnson & Wales to town on Dec. 5 before opening Big South Conference play on Dec. 13 when they host Campbell before stepping back into non-conference matchups the next four games.
East Tennessee State comes to town on Dec. 15 before Asheville readies for Georgetown in Washington, D.C. on December 19. Matchups at home against Elon (Dec. 21) and Furman (Dec. 29) wrap up non-conference play.
“This is obviously a very challenging schedule, but I believe we must test our young team early so we can prepare them for yet another tough year in the Big South Conference,” stated McDevitt. “We have nine freshmen and sophomores on this year's roster, so by playing these tough opponents, and by participating in an early season tournament, it is my hope that our team can quickly learn what it takes to win multiple games in a matter of days so that we give ourselves the best possible chance to win the Big South Conference Tournament in March.”
Big South Conference play begins in Virginia for the Bulldogs with games at Longwood (Dec. 31) and Liberty (Jan. 2) to ring in the New Year. Asheville's first home league game is with Winthrop four days later (Jan. 6). The Bulldogs then travel to the South Carolina coast for a matchup with Charleston Southern (Jan. 9) before heading back to Virginia to take on Radford (Jan. 14). Asheville returns home to host Gardner-Webb (Jan.16) before playing at High Point (Jan. 20) and a home meeting against Presbyterian (Jan. 23). The Dogs close out January with their last Big South regular season trip to Coastal Carolina (Jan 27) before ending the month at home against Longwood (Jan. 30).
Asheville starts February with a home matchup against Charleston Southern (Feb. 3) before heading to Campbell (Feb. 6). The Bulldogs then host Radford on Feb. 11 before traveling to Presbyterian (Feb. 18) and at Winthrop (Feb. 20).
The Bulldogs finish the season with a two-game homestand at Kimmel Arena. Asheville welcomes Liberty to town on Feb. 25 then ends the regular season with a final conference meeting against Coastal Carolina on Feb. 27. The Big South Championships will be held March 3-6 at a location to be announced in the coming weeks.
