head men’s basketball coach Joe Callero has released the team’s schedule for the 2008-2009 season, which includes 20 games against Division I opposition featuring the first Division I home game at KeyArena in over 28 years.
The team will first face outside competition in early November with exhibition games against Point Loma Nazarene (Nov. 7) and Evergreen State College (Nov. 11) at the . The Redhawks will then host the Elgin Baylor Classic on Nov. 15-16, facing and Notre Dame de Namur in afternoon contests.
After a home game against (Nov. 20), starts its slate against Division I opponents with a trip to face on Nov. 25. Then the team heads off to the Great Alaska Shootout during Thanksgiving weekend, starting the tournament with a Thanksgiving Day matchup against will face either or the next day, with one more game on Saturday, Nov. 29.
returns home for a game against on Dec. 4, then heads south to face Big Sky school on Dec. 6. The next weekend, the Redhawks travel to California and go up against Big West members Cal Poly (Dec. 14) and UC Irvine (Dec. 16). After a home game against Linfield on Dec. 20, the team returns from Christmas break and heads to , , for a contest against Pac-10 school on Dec. 29.
The Redhawks kick off 2009 with a home game against Loyola Marymount, planned for KeyArena, on Thursday, Jan. 1. Ironically, Loyola Marymount was the last team hosted in men’s basketball in 1980 before dropping out of Division I. Seattle University then faces another West Coast Conference school, taking the trip south on I-5 to face the University of Portland on Jan. 4.
After two games in Puerto Rico on Jan. 16-17, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville play a home-and-home series, with the Redhawks hosting on Jan. 24 and then traveling to the for a Jan. 31 game. The team plays its final three home games in a row, hosting (Feb. 7), (Feb. 10), and (Feb. 14). The final six games of the season are on the road, starting with a Feb 16 contest at Cal State Bakersfield. The Redhawks also head to Eastern Washington (Feb. 24), (Feb. 27), and (Feb. 28).
wraps up the 2008-09 season on March 7-8 by going back to , , for a tournament hosted by and also featuring and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Redhawks will have ten regular season home games and 18 games away from home.
“The 2008-09 schedule will give us a great transition into Division I basketball,” Callero said. “The Great Alaska Shootout will be a great test for our guys, and road games against , Eastern Washington, , and will renew some of our Northwest rivalries.”
is coming off an 18-9 season, the third straight winning season for the program. Nine players return from the 2007-08 squad that traveled to for an exhibition game last November, the first taste of Division I competition for the SU men’s basketball squad.
Ticket information for the Jan. 1 game at KeyArena against Loyola Marymount will be released soon.