University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men’s basketball releases 2023-24 schedule
09.20.2023 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville men's basketball unveiled their 2023-24 non-conference schedule on Wednesday, alongside the season's Big South Conference slate, and will kick the season off on Nov. 7, as the Bulldogs travel to face the University of Michigan.
NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
Nov. 7 @ Michigan
Nov. 11 UNC Wilmington
Nov. 14 Carolina University
Nov. 18 Virginia University of Lynchburg
Northern Classic in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nov. 24 Lipscomb
Nov. 25 Wofford
Nov. 26 Western Kentucky
Dec. 1 Johnson University (TN)
Dec. 5 @ Kennesaw State
Dec. 9 @ Western Carolina University
Dec. 13 Auburn (Huntsville, Ala.)
Dec. 18 South Carolina State
Dec. 21 App State (Hickory, N.C.)
Dec. 23 Kennesaw State
Dec. 29 @ University of Alabama Birmingham
Asheville is facing one of its most challenging non-conference schedules in recent years, with two opponents earning bids to the NCAA Tournament and two competing in the National Invitational Tournament last season. The Bulldogs have six home contests during the 2023 portion of their schedule.
SEASON OPENER AT MICHIGAN– Asheville's season opener in Ann Arbor will be the Bulldogs' second time facing the Wolverines in program history. The Bulldogs traveled to face Michigan on Dec. 31, 2004, and lost that matchup 75-54. The Wolverines went 18-16 last season and 11-9 in Big Ten action. The Wolverines competed in the NIT last season and fell to Vanderbilt in the second round of the tournament.
BULLDOGS' HOME OPENER vs. UNC WILMINGTON– Asheville will welcome UNC Wilmington to Kimmel Arena for its home opener. This will be the two programs' eighth matchup, with the Seahawks holding a 6-1 advantage over the Bulldogs. Last season, UNC Wilmington went 24-10 and upset the No. 1 seed Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association before falling to No. 2 Charleston in the tournament finals.
REMAINING HOME NON-CONFERENCE GAMES– Asheville hosts Carolina University and Virginia University of Lynchburg before hitting the road to Canada. Upon returning to Canada, the Bulldogs host Johnson to kick off the month of December. This will be Asheville's first time facing all three programs.
Asheville's two remaining home games of the 2023 portion of the season will be against South Carolina State and Kennesaw State. The Bulldogs faced South Carolina State last season (Dec. 13, 2022) and won 94-84 on the road. Asheville holds a 3-2 lead in the series and is 2-0 at home.
NORTHERN CLASSIC– Asheville will spend their Thanksgiving competing in the Northern Classic in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, playing three games in three days. The Bulldogs will open the Classic against Lipscomb on Nov. 24, followed by Wofford on Nov. 25, and Western Kentucky on Nov. 26.
HOME-AND-HOME WITH THE OWLS– The Bulldogs will face Kennesaw State twice in December, first traveling to Kennesaw on Dec. 5 before hosting the Owls in Kimmel Arena on Dec. 23. Kennesaw last season went 26-9 and 15-3 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Kennesaw claimed the ASUN Regular Season and Tournament Championships and went to the NCAA Tournament, facing Xavier and falling 72-67.
In the final Mid Major Top 25 Collegeinsider.com poll, the Owls were listed at No. 14, while Asheville was listed at No. 21. The two teams will meet for the first time in program history on Dec. 5.
WNC RIVALRY– The Western North Carolina rivalry between Asheville and WCU will head to Cullowhee for the two programs' 39th matchup this year. Last season, the Bulldogs defeated the Catamounts in Kimmel Arena 73-61 (Nov. 26, 2022). Last season, WCU went 18-16 and 10-8 in SoCon action.
NEUTRAL SITE OPPONENTS– Asheville will be competing in two neutral site games in December, first against Auburn in the Rocket City Classic presented by Akima at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the second against Appalachian State at Catawba Valley Community College's Tarlton Complex in Hickory, N.C.
This will be Asheville and Auburn's fifth all-time matchup. The Bulldogs and Tigers last met on Dec. 4, 2018, and Auburn has a 3-1 lead in the series. Auburn is coming off a season that saw the Tigers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, compiling a 21-13 record.
Asheville and App State's neutral site game on Dec. 21 is just the first of two games the teams will have over the next two seasons. The Bulldogs will face the Mountaineers at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville next season on Nov. 14, 2024. This will be Asheville and Appalachian's first matchup in 23 years, as their last matchup was on Dec. 30, 2001. This will be the teams' 12th matchup, with App State holding an 8-3 lead. Appalachian State, which went 16-16 last season, is slated to have a veteran squad with 70 percent of its scoring returning to the court for the 2023-24 campaign.
FINAL NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUP– Asheville returns to Alabama for its final non-conference matchup, as they face UAB on Dec. 29. The Bulldogs last met the Blazers on Nov. 9, 2021, and fell 102-77. Birmingham has a 2-0 series lead over Asheville. UAB went 29-10 last season and lost to North Texas in the NIT Championship game.
A WORD FROM MIKE MORRELL– "We are really excited to announce our 2023 non-conference schedule," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell. "Our fans will get a chance to see us play six times at Kimmel Arena beginning on Nov. 11 vs. UNC Wilmington. This is the most challenging schedule we have faced since I arrived in Asheville, and we look forward to watching our team grow before Big South play starts in January."
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE PLAY
Jan. 3 USC Upstate
Jan. 6 @ Presbyterian
Jan. 10 @ High Point
Jan. 13 Longwood
Jan. 17 @ Winthrop
Jan. 24 Radford
Jan. 27 @ Charleston Southern
Jan. 31 @ Gardner-Webb
Feb. 3 Winthrop
Feb. 7 High Point
Feb. 10 @ USC Upstate
Feb. 14 Presbyterian
Feb. 17 Charleston Southern
Feb. 21 @ Longwood
Feb. 24 Gardner-Webb
March 2 @ Radford
OVERVIEW OF LEAGUE PLAY– There are 16 Big South Conference matchups this year, with eight on the road and eight in Kimmel Arena. Campbell is no longer a member of the Big South, causing the league to go from 18 conference matchups to 16 this year. League play will begin on Jan. 3 and be played on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with the exceptions being the ESPNU Wild Card games that will be moved to Thursday later in the season. Game times will be released at a later date.
The men's team will play in the opposite location as the women's team on the same date, except for Jan. 27, when both teams will be playing at Charleston Southern, and on Feb. 17, when they both play at home.
BIG SOUTH HOME GAMES– Asheville's first Big South game will be right after the New Year break, as the Bulldogs host USC Upstate on Jan. 3, kicking off the basketball portion of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry. Last season, Asheville defeated the Spartans at home 64-58.
Asheville will play Longwood at home on Jan. 13. Last season, Asheville hosted Longwood in its first ESPNU Big South Wild Card game of the year and defeated the Lancers 54-46. The Bulldogs' next home game will be against Radford on Jan. 24. Asheville opened its conference schedule last season against the Highlanders and won 62-58.
The Bulldogs will host Winthrop on Feb. 3. Asheville defeated the Eagles at home last season 86-79, marking their first win against Winthrop in Kimmel Arena since 2018. In last year's victory, Drew Pember scored his 1,000th career point.
Asheville will host High Point, who is hosting the 2023-24 Big South Basketball Championships, on Feb. 7. Last year, Asheville defeated High Point at home 89-63.
Asheville welcomes Presbyterian to town on Feb. 14. Last year, the Bulldogs defeated the Blue Hose in overtime, 88-80. Pember scored 48 points in that victory and not only broke the school record for most points scored in a game, but it also marked the most points scored by any Division I men's basketball player last season. Furthermore, Pember's 48 points established a new single-game record for the most points scored in a game played inside Kimmel Arena.
The Bulldogs' final two home games will be against Charleston Southern on Feb. 17, which will be Homecoming, and against Bulldog rivals Gardner-Webb on Feb. 24. More details regarding Homecoming festivities will become available at a later date.
Asheville went undefeated last season at Kimmel Arena, going 13-0 and 9-0 in conference action.
BIG SOUTH ROAD GAMES OF NOTE– Asheville will be looking to avenge their two conference losses of last season, as the Bulldogs fell on the road to Winthrop and USC Upstate. The Bulldogs will travel to Winthrop on Jan. 17 and Upstate on Feb. 10.
The only conference road game in which the Bulldogs went to overtime last season was against Gardner-Webb. Alex Caldwell hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game and send it into overtime, where the Bulldogs were able to secure the win. Asheville will be returning to Boiling Springs on Jan. 31.
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT– High Point will host this year's Big South Conference Tournament, March 6-10, at the 4,500-seat Nido and Mariana Qubein Center on the High Point campus. Information regarding the purchasing of tickets to the tournament will come at a later date.
BULLDOG SEASON TICKETS AND SINGLE-GAME TICKETS– Between non-conference and conference action, there will be 14 games inside Kimmel Arena this season, compared to last year's 13 home contests. Tickets for the 2023-24 basketball season are on sale now. You can purchase your tickets here.
You can get early access to meet the team and witness the 2022-23 Big South Championship banners being revealed by purchasing tickets to the Celebration on the Court event on Sept. 28. Details on the event and how to purchase your tickets can be found here.
