DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Two trips to the Bayou, matchups against the Southeast Conference and the Big East, as well as a unique Nebraska tournament highlight the 2012-13 Bethune-Cookman University Men's Basketball schedule.
Head Coach Gravelle Craig's second season at the helm will see the Wildcats opening on the road at St. Bonaventure on Friday, November 9. B-CU makes two trips to Louisiana, facing Tulane and New Orleans on Nov. 13 and Nov. 15 then returning January 5 to meet LSU. Other non-conference road games include a Dec. 15 meeting with Pittsburgh and instate games with UCF and FIU.
B-CU will participate in the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic, but the tournament's format does not have the Wildcats meeting the Cornhuskers nor setting foot in the Cornhusker state. The Wildcats' four-game tournament slate includes the Tulane game, a Nov. 20 meeting at Kent State and a Nov. 23-24 tournament-within-the-tournament at Valparaiso that includes Chicago State and Nebraska-Omaha.
Home games in Moore Gymnasium include a December 3 Volusia County rivalry game with Stetson and a Dec. 21 game with Youngstown State. The home-opener is Nov. 27 against North Florida.
"We have prepared a challenging non-conference schedule that gives us an opportunity to face different styles of basketball that's played at a high level," Craig said. "The bottom line is the schedule will help us prepare for Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play."
B-CU opens MEAC play at Florida A&M on Dec. 1, and has five of its next seven league games in Daytona Beach. The home schedule concludes Feb. 25 against defending regular season champion Savannah State followed by a challenging three-game road swing to Hampton, MEAC tournament champion Norfolk State and Coppin State the week before the conference tournament in Norfolk, Va.
"Once January rolls around, we're going to have to be at the top of our game every night for two months," Craig said. "The league is more balanced than ever before, and there will not be any easy nights for anyone. I'm looking forward to getting started."
The Wildcats finished 18-17 in 2011-2012, posting their fourth consecutive winning campaign despite a 4-11 start. B-CU made its first appearance in the MEAC championship game, falling 73-70 to Norfolk State, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Click here to download the 2012-13 schedule.