BALTIMORE, Md. – Four road games as part of the MGM Tournament and back-to-back powerhouse road contest against Georgetown and Clemson highlight the 2016-17 Coppin State men’s basketball non-conference schedule released today by third year head men’s basketball coach Michael Grant.
“We wanted to play some games that we thought we will be very competitive in. Looking at our schedule even though we are playing a lot away games we are playing some teams that I think we will have an opportunity of beating,” commented Grant.
Coppin State will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 11 against the Colonial Athletic Association regular season champions Hofstra Pride. The Pride won 24 games in 2015-16 and advanced to the CAA title game before losing a hard-fought overtime decision to UNCW. It will mark the second meeting between the two schools with Hofstra edging the Eagles back in the 2014-15 season.
The Eagle’s first game in the MGM Tournament will come on Nov. 14, with a road contest against Valparaiso. The Crusaders went 30-7 last season and advanced to the Horizon League Championship game. Their post season continued with a trip to Madison Square Garden for the 2016 Postseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT) where they fell in the championship game to George Washington. This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
A stretch of three games in three days is slated for the Eagles with two of the games continuing the action of the MGM Tournament. On. Nov. 16, Coppin State will head to Coastal Carolina to face the Chanticleer in their second game of the MGM Tournament. Coastal went 21-12 a year ago and received a bid to the 2016 Collegeinisder.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Then on Nov. 17, Brigham Young is the next opponent for the soaring Eagles kicking off a four game west coast trip. The Cougars won 20-plus games and advanced to the postseason for the 11th straight season. BYU finished with a 26-11 overall record, placed third in the West Coast Conference at 13-5 and earned an at-large bid to the NIT. This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
After their third game of the MGM Tournament against BYU, the Eagles take on Utah from the Pac-12 conference in Salt Lake City on Nov. 18. The Utes went 27-9 in 2015-16 season and entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Utah and Coppin State will square off for the second time ever on the hardwood.
The Eagles final matchup of the MGM Tournament will feature Ball State on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas, Nev. Ball State improved from a 7-23 record two seasons ago to a 21-14 stint last year marking the fourth-largest turnaround among the nation’s 351 Division I teams. The Cardinals shared the MAC West Division championship and made an appearance in the CIT which was the team’s first postseason appearance since 2002. Coppin State trails the all-time series against Ball State 1-2. Coppin State remains on the west coast concluding a seven game slate versus Grand Canyon on Nov. 25 in Phoenix, Ariz. The Lopes are coming off its best season in NCAA Division I play with a 27-7 record.
On. Nov. 28, Coppin State returns to the east coast from their rigorous west coast trip for the 2016-17 home opener inside the Physical Education Complex against Chestnut Hill. The Eagles hold a 1-0 lead in the series against the Griffins who went 13-15 a season ago. In his first two seasons as head coach, Michael Grant is undefeated in season home openers.
The month of November comes to a close with the first ever meeting between the Eagles and Hoyas of Georgetown on Nov. 30th in Washington D.C. Georgetown of the BIG EAST conference went 15-18 last season.
Turning the calendar to December, Coppin State heads to Clemson for their third ever meeting against the ACC foe on Dec. 4. The Tigers compiled 10 ACC wins, tying the school’s single season record a year ago. The Eagles and Tigers will compete in the brand new Littlejohn Coliseum. Next, for CSU is a matchup against Akron on Dec. 7. The Zips have won the last four meetings with the Eagles and finished last season with a 26-9 ledger after going down in the opening round of the NIT to Ohio State.
Coppin State takes on Buffalo on Dec. 10 before returning home for two crucial home games. The back-to-back Mid-American Conference champions finished the season 20-15 and gave third-seeded Miami all it could handle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls and the Eagles met in the 1993 season with Coppin State defeating Buffalo 69-52.
Coppin State will close out non-conference play with two home games when it hosts Goldey-Beacom on Dec. 15 and Louisiana at Monroe on Dec. 20. The Lightning went 10-18 a year ago and trail the Eagles 2-0 in the all-time series. Their next battle pairs the Eagles with the ULM Warhawks. ULM posted a 20-14 overall record in 2015-16. This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Non-conference play wraps up on Dec. 22, against Mount St. Mary’s on the road. The Mount went 14-19 last year and made it to the NEC Conference Tournament semifinals. Coppin State trails the all-time series against the Mount 1-0.
The Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC) home games for the Eagles will feature South Carolina State, North Carolina A&T, Norfolk State, Morgan State, North Carolina Central, Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, and Hampton.
Coppin State is coming off a 9-22 season and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2016 MEAC Basketball Tournament for the second straight season after upsetting North Carolina A&T in double overtime in the opening round. The Eagles finished second in the MEAC in 3-pointers made, including making a 3-point field goal in 190 consecutive games, the longest streak in the NCAA.