Georgia Southern Men's Basketball Releases 2009-10 Schedule
8/26/2009 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Athletics Department on Wednesday announced its 2009-2010 men's basketball schedule, with 14 home games in Hanner Fieldhouse. The historic facility will mark its 40th anniversary this season and celebrate the homecoming of alumnus Charlton "C.Y." Young '94, who returns to lead the Eagles as head coach.
The Eagles will tipoff with Reinhardt for the 2009-2010 season as the Young era fittingly begins Friday, November 13 in Hanner Fieldhouse on Homecoming Weekend. The doubleheader with the Lady Eagles that evening marks the first basketball games during a football Homecoming Weekend. Following the season opener, Georgia Southern plays three straight games away from Statesboro, meeting SEC members South Carolina (Nov. 16) and recent two-time national champion Florida (Nov. 18). The road trip concludes at Jacksonville, Ala., where the Eagles play Jacksonville State on Nov. 21st.
"Playing against high-level competition and against some of the top programs in the country early in the season will undoubtedly help us prepare for what we will see in the Southern Conference," said Charlton Young, who watched numerous Southern Conference games while coaching most recently at Georgia Tech and previously as associate head coach at Chattanooga. "Our goal is to be a championship program and every team we face can help us improve in different aspects of the game. Our conference features quality and experienced coaches, and plenty of talent. If we can identify and address our own weaknesses early on the earlier we can fix them, and be ready for conference play."
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Hanner Fieldhouse will host its first collegiate tournament since March 1992, when Georgia Southern won three straight games in the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The "Legends Classic" Nov. 27-29, presented by the Gazelle Group, will feature the Eagles, Troy, Valparaiso and an additional team. The Gazelle Group will announce the final participant and complete lineup of games at a later date.
The month of December puts the Eagles on the road for six of their seven games with Southern Conference games against College of Charleston (Dec. 3), The Citadel (Dec. 5) and non-conference contests at North Carolina State (Dec. 12), at Evansville (Dec. 17), at Georgia State (Dec. 22) and at Coastal Carolina (Dec. 29). The Eagles play a single game at Hanner Fieldhouse on December 15th with the first of the home-and-home meetings as they face one of Young's mentors, Chanticleers head coach Cliff Ellis. Making its first trip to Atlanta since 1998, Georgia Southern will play at Georgia State, in the first meeting between the in-state rivals since 1995.
The Eagles travel to Auburn for a Jan. 2 game, bringing Coach Young back to the arena where his basketball coaching career began. Georgia Southern returns for six of its next eight games at Hanner Fieldhouse with 2009 Southern Conference champion Chattanooga for its only meeting with the Mocs on Jan. 6 and then Western Carolina on Jan. 9. The next week takes Georgia Southern to Wofford (Jan. 14) and Furman (Jan. 16). A four-game homestand to close out the month begins with Appalachian State (Jan. 20), Davidson (Jan. 23) and ends with the final two meetings with The Citadel (Jan. 28) and College of Charleston (Jan. 30).
Reciprocal conference games in February put the Eagles on the road for the first three games, playing at Western Carolina (Feb. 4) and at Davidson (Feb. 6) with trip to Appalachian State the following week (Feb. 13). Furman plays a mid-week game at Hanner on February 17th and Georgia Southern hosts Wofford (doubleheader with Lady Eagles) for the final weekend home game of the season on February 20th. Three games against SoCon North Division opponents - at Samford (Feb. 22), Elon in Statesboro (Feb. 25) and at UNC Greensboro (March 1) - lead up to the 2010 Southern Conference Championships, slated for March 5-8. A change in the tournament venue for the SoCon Championships brings the men's and women's teams to Charlotte, N.C. The tournament champion earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
"There's no way I can even imagine what it is going to be like when I step into Hanner Fieldhouse for that first game as head coach of THE Georgia Southern University," Young said. "It's something I hope many others will be able to experience along with me."
Season tickets for the 2009-10 season, which includes the three "Legends Classic" games in which Georgia Southern is playing, are $100 each for lower-level chair-back seats. Upper-level seats are $50 per season ticket. Single-game tickets for adults are $8 with youth single-game tickets (ages 3-12) set at $4. Additional information on men's basketball season ticket renewals and new season ticket purchases will be released in September.
One of the biggest changes for Eagles home games, starting with the Dec. 15 game vs. Coastal Carolina is the new 7 p.m. tipoff time. Saturday afternoon games will begin at 1 p.m. Home games without listed start times will be updated as the season draws closer. The SoCon television schedule will be announced at a future date and may affect previously announced tipoff times. Game time updates, ticket information and broadcast options will be available on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
The 2009-2010 Georgia Southern men's basketball schedule may be viewed here.
