DOVER (August 6, 2008) ? Twenty-three teams from nine different conferences highlight the 2008-09 Delaware State Men's Basketball slate as announced by Head Coach Greg Jackson, today. Featuring 10 teams which reached postseason play during the 2007-08 season, the 2008-09 schedule will pit the Hornets against three teams ranked in last season's final Top 25 (Connecticut, Notre Dame, West Virginia) as well as three former NCAA Division I Champions (Kentucky, Connecticut, Maryland).
"Once again, Coach Jackson and his staff have put together a tremendous schedule," said DSU Director of Athletics Rick Costello. "The opportunity for our student-athletes to play some of the premier programs in the NCAA will only make our program stronger."
"This is one of our toughest schedules to date," said Jackson. "This year's schedule is going to give our program the best shot at grabbing a fourth regular season MEAC Championship over the past five years. We are going to play some of the top programs in the nation with teams like UConn, Maryland and Kentucky ? all of which have won national championships. We've got an exciting home schedule with a number of tough MEAC foes and an exciting and challenging road schedule that rivals any program's in the nation. We look forward to the challenge and I know it will be fun for our fans and players alike."
DSU opens the season, hosting the 2008 Hornet Classic (Nov. 14-15). Taking part in the two-day competition will be Wilmington University, Cheney University and Coppin State.
The Hornets will then leave the friendly confines of Memorial Hall for a seven-game road swing. The first stop will be Stabler Arena to face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Nov. 17. Lehigh finished fourth in the Patriot League last season, posting a 7-7 league mark (14-15 overall). The Hornets then head to Dayton, Ohio, to take on the Dayton Flyers (Nov. 19). The Flyers advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008 Postseason NIT, finishing with a 23-11 overall record last season.
DSU continues its road trip with the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational. The first round of the invitational will pit the Hornets versus the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 22 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 48th time in school history, the seven-time national champion finished last season with an 18-13 record (12-4 SEC). The second round of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational (also on a campus site) will feature DSU versus West Virginia on Nov. 25 at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. Ranked No. 17 in the final coaches poll, the Mountaineers complied a 26-11 record in 2008 while advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of last year's NCAA Tournament.
The Findlay Toyota Invitational continues with the third round and championship rounds held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The Hornets will take on Oakland (17-14, 11-7 Summit) on Nov. 28 and then face either Longwood (9-22) or Southeast Missouri (12-19, 7-13 Ohio Valley) on Nov. 29.
On Dec. 1, DSU will travel to Storrs, Conn., to take on two-time NCAA Champion Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies registered a fourth place finish in the 2007-08 BIG EAST final standings with a 13-5 conference record. UConn earned a No. 4 seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and finished the season with a 24-9 mark and a No. 16 final ranking in the AP Top 25.
The Hornets head home on Dec. 4, hosting UMES (4-28, 2-14 MEAC) in the team's conference opener. Delaware State won both meetings last season, increasing the team's lead in the all-time series history to 45-43.
Delaware State returns to the road for four-straight games, beginning with a trip to Richmond, Va. to take on the Richmond Spiders (Dec. 6). The Spiders earned a berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational Tournament last season with a 16-15 overall record. The next stop for the Hornets will be College Park, Md., to take on the Maryland Terrapins (Dec. 12). Finishing 8-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, the Terps (19-15 overall) advanced to the second round of the Postseason NIT in 2007-08. Two days later (Dec. 14), the Hornets will face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Scarlet Knights will be the third BIG EAST foe for the Hornets this season. Rutgers ended 2007-08 with an 11-20 record.
DSU will close out the four-game road trip in Notre Dame, Ind. (Dec. 20). The Hornets will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame (Final Rankings No. 15 AP/No. 19 Coaches) advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, compiling a 24-7 record (14-4 BIG EAST).
On Jan. 10, DSU plays host to South Carolina State (13-20, 7-9 MEAC) in the only meeting between the two teams during the regular season. The Hornets defeated the Bulldogs, 64-57 (Jan. 12, 2008 at South Carolina State), last season. DSU continues its home stand, hosting the Winston-Salem State Rams (12-18) on Jan. 12. This will mark the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams with DSU holding a 2-1 edge in the series history.
The Hornets head to Norfolk, Va., on Jan. 17 and Greensboro, N.C. on Jan. 19 to take on the Norfolk State Spartans (16-15, 11-5 MEAC) and the North Carolina A&T Aggies (15-16, 9-7 MEAC). DSU split with both NSU and A&T last season.
Up next for the Hornets will be four-straight conference home games. Bethune-Cookman (Jan. 24), Florida A&M (Jan. 26), Coppin State (Jan. 31) and Morgan State (Feb. 2) will travel to Dover take on DSU at Memorial Hall. The BC-U Wildcats ended last season with an 11-21 (5-11 MEAC) record. The Hornets swept the Wildcats to improve DSU's win total to 28 over the team from Daytona Beach. Florida A&M (15-17, 9-7 MEAC) swept Delaware State last season. The Rattlers hold a slight edge in the series history, 31-30. The Hornets topped Coppin State (16-21, 7-9 MEAC) last season, 54-48 (Feb. 2, 2008 at Coppin State), to register the Hornet's 18th win all time over the Eagles. Coppin State went on to win the MEAC Tournament and earn a berth in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Morgan State (22-11, 14-2 MEAC), last season's conference regular season champion, earned a berth in the 2008 Postseason NIT.
Delaware State will take on Hampton (18-12, 11-5 MEAC) on Feb. 7 at the Hampton University Convocation Center. The Hornets registered their 20th win all-time versus the Pirates, following a 67-58 victory last season (Feb. 9, 2008 ? Memorial Hall). The Hornets then travel to Washington, D.C., taking on the Howard Bison (6-26, 3-13) on Feb. 9. DSU topped Howard, 81-55, in the only meeting between the two teams last season ((Feb. 11, 2008 ? Memorial Hall).
DSU will take on MEAC foes Norfolk State (Feb. 14) and North Carolina A&T (Feb. 16) for the second time this season, hosting both schools to close out the home portion of the 2008-09 campaign.
Delaware State will close out the 2008-09 season with four-straight road games, traveling to Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 21), Florida A&M (Feb. 23), Morgan State (Feb. 28) and UMES (March 5).
The MEAC Basketball Tournament will take place March 9-14 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. All 11 teams make the postseason tournament with the winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Ticket information for the upcoming men's basketball season will be available in mid-September.
