2019-20 HBU Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
HOUSTON – On Friday afternoon, HBU James Sears Bryant Head Men's Basketball Coach
Ron Cottrell announced the Huskies' non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2019-20 season, a schedule that includes eight of nine games away from Sharp Gym and opponents from the Big 12, Big 10, Atlantic 10 and the American, among others.
"As always, we endeavor to put together a schedule that challenges our guys leading into conference," said Cottrell. "We have a good mix of games that we feel really will prepare our guys and that's what this is all about for us as coaches and as a team. It's about what we can do to build some chemistry and toughness as a team to get ready for Southland Conference play."
The season will kick off with a visit to Tulsa on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with a noon tip-off in Tulsa, Okla. as part of the Golden Hurricane's third annual Blackboards & Backboards Educational Day. The Huskies will remain in Tulsa to then face one-time SLC foe Oral Roberts on Friday, Nov. 8.
Next up for the Huskies will be three-straight games against teams from last year's NCAA Tournament beginning with a matchup against national runner-up Texas Tech at the Chaparral Center in Midland, Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 13. HBU will then have more than a week to prepare for a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich. and a date with the Michigan Wolverines on Friday, Nov. 22, before returning home and heading across town to take on Houston at the Fertitta Center for a pre-Thanksgiving game on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
The Huskies' sixth-straight game on the road comes on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with a matchup against the Dayton Flyers in Dayton, Ohio with the home-opener against Samford coming four days later on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7:00 p.m. in Sharp Gym. HBU will remain close to home the following weekend with another game in Houston, visiting Tudor Fieldhouse to take on Rice on Saturday, Dec. 14. The Huskies' final non-conference game will come on Sunday, Dec. 22, with a trip west to Albuquerque, N.M. for a matchup against New Mexico.
"Opening the season at Tulsa with Oral Roberts on the same trip will give us a good measure early on of where we are and then the games just keep coming from there," Cottrell added. "I think this schedule gives our fans some games to get excited about, even here in town against Houston and renewing the series with Rice. So, we've got games that, while they aren't in Sharp Gym, they're here in Houston where our fans can come and see the Huskies play. Having the Samford Bulldogs in Sharp will be a continuation of the series with them from last year and gives us a high quality opponent coming to Sharp Gym. We always try to challenge our guys and I think we've done that with the likes of last year's national runner-up in Texas Tech, Michigan, Dayton and New Mexico."
HBU's 2019-20 opponents combined to go 188-118 last season with three teams making the NCAA Tournament and another playing in the NIT. The Huskies have played eight of its nine opponents before with the game at Dayton marking the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Huskies return nine letterwinners from last year's squad, including all-conference guard
Ian DuBose, which finished the season with a 12-18 overall record and an 8-10 mark in SLC play.
