Aug. 19, 2009
• 2009-10 Navy Men's Basketball Schedule
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy men's basketball head coach Billy Lange has announced that the 2009-10 Navy men's basketball schedule has been finalized. The schedule features seven non-conference home games, a contest in the Verizon Center as part of the BB&T Classic and five games against teams that played in the postseason a year ago.
"As a program, we are excited about the challenges this schedule presents," said Lange. "We feel the non-conference schedule is very competitive and will be a very good warm-up for the Patriot League schedule, will be very strong this year. There is a good balance of really good teams on the schedule and it will help us focus on our academics, while staying as regional as we can.
"I also have to commend assistant coach Ron Ginyard on a fantastic job facilitating the schedule," added Lange. "Ginyard displayed sensitivity to the economy and by staying regional, it will help us to stay focused on our academics. This is the toughest year we have had getting games -- its not as easy as it once one for us. I thought Ron handled the schedule with a great deal of professionalism and class."
The Mids will open their 103rd season of play on November 13, when it travels to the 2009 Big South Champion, Radford. Navy defeated the Highlanders, 73-71, in overtime last year in Annapolis. The task will be harder to come by this year as the Highlanders welcome back four starters from last year's team and are the preseason favorite to repeat in the Big South Conference. Two days later, Navy makes the short drive from Radford, Va., to Farmville, Va., to face Longwood on Nov. 15. Navy owns a 6-0 all-time record against the Lancers. Longwood went 17-14 last year, including 13-2 at home.
On November 19, Navy opens its home slate with a tilt against the defending MAC East Champion, Buffalo. The Bulls went 21-12 last year and reached the finals of the Mid-American Conference title game, falling to Akron. The Bulls welcome back four starters from last year's squad.
Two days after the home opener, Navy hits the road to take on a surging Long Island University club on Nov. 21. The Blackbirds finished 16-14 last year, including 12-6 in the Northeast Conference, good for a tie for second. Long Island U. will bring back 12 letterwinners and four starters from last year's squad.
Lange's team will then return home to host a season-long four-game homestand, beginning on Nov. 24, against regional rival Towson. The Tigers defeated the Mids, 86-68, in the season opener last year and reached the CAA Conference Tournament semifinals. Navy follows that contest with another regional game, hosting Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 28. The Mountaineers advanced to the title game of the Northeast Conference Tournament and won the NEC two years ago. Mount St. Mary's was 19-14 a year ago and welcomes back three starters.
Two days later, Navy hosts another NEC team, this time Quinnipiac comes calling to Alumni Hall for the first meeting ever between the two teams. The Bobcats went 15-16 last year, but finished the NEC with a 10-8 record, good for fifth in the league standings.
Navy closes out its four-game homestand with a Dec. 4 showdown against Ivy League foe, Penn. The Mids snapped a seven-game losing streak last year to the Quakers and will be looking for their first win over Penn in Annapolis since 1988. Penn went 10-18 last year, but welcomes back four starters.
Navy then hits the road for four straight games, starting with the BB&T Classic contest against George Washington on Dec. 6, in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since 1983 and precedes a top-25 showdown between Maryland and Villanova.
On Dec. 9, Navy heads to Princess Anne, Md., for a tilt against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Mids have won four straight games against the Hawks by an average margin of 20.8 points per game. The Midshipmen then head south to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on a very good Wofford team. The Terriers went 16-14 last year and return all five starters from last year's team, in addition to six other letterwinners and two highly-regarded transfers.
Navy closes the four-game road swing following finals and with a contest against Big East member, Seton Hall, on Dec. 22, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The Pirates went 17-15 last season and bring back four starters and seven letterwinners from that squad. The series between the two teams is tied at 1-1, with Seton Hall pulling out a 79-75 victory in the Philly Hoop Group Classic in the 2007-08 season.
Navy will return home for a pair of games against Coppin State on Elon on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, respectively, before closing out non-conference play on Jan. 4 at Howard.
The Mids will open up Patriot League play on Jan. 9, at Bucknell and the league home opener will be the following Wednesday (Jan. 13) against Lehigh. Navy will host Army on Jan. 23. Two-time defending Patriot League champion American comes calling on Senior Night (Feb. 24), while the likely preseason league favorite, Holy Cross, will come to Annapolis on Feb. 17.
The Patriot League television contests will be announced at a later date.
Lange, who is entering his sixth year at the helm of the Navy men's basketball team, welcomes back three starters as well as junior Romeo Garcia, who started as a freshman but missed nearly all of last year with hamstring injuries. Navy went 19-11 last year and finished third in the Patriot League with an 8-6 record.
# GO NAVY #
