2009 NIT Season Tip-Off Bracket
HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/21/09) - Colgate University Director of Athletics
Dave Roach and Men's Basketball Coach
Emmett Davis have announced the 2009-10 Raider schedule. The schedule will offer several early tests and another challenging season in the Patriot League.
The Raiders will open the season on the road in the 2009 Dicks Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off against Connecticut on ESPNU (Nov. 16) at 9 p.m. The Raiders will play four games in Pre-season NIT, before returning home for a game against St. Francis (N.Y.) on November 28.
“It is a great honor to represent the Patriot League in the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip Off Tournament,” said coach Davis. “The tournament boasts an incredible 16 team field that includes national powerhouse programs UConn, Duke, LSU, and Arizona State.”
Following the home opener the Raiders will travel north to take on non-conference rival Syracuse (Nov. 30) at the Carrier Dome. “Our schedule will provide us with several early challenges,” sated Davis. “We are guaranteed four games in the NIT against excellent competition and follow those games up with two major Big East tests at Syracuse and at Rutgers.”
Sandwiched between the Syracuse and Rutgers games is a home game against Maine (Dec. 3), a team who the Raiders lost to last season on the road. After the Rutgers game they will take on Stony Brook (Dec. 12) and UTSA (Dec. 20) in pair of home games.
The Raiders follow with a pair of non-conference road games at Dartmouth (Dec. 22) and New Hampshire (Dec. 30), before tipping-off the New Year with three non-league home games against Longwood (Jan. 2), Central Connecticut State (Jan. 4), and North Carolina Central (Jan. 6), and then enter league play.
The non-conference schedule should have the Raiders ready for Patriot League play, which will start at home January 9 against Army and January 13 against Lafayette. “The Patriot League should be a terrific race this year as several teams return talented veteran players,” said Davis. “I expect there to be great balance throughout the conference and fiercely contested games each and every night.”
The Patriot League Tournament will begin March 3 with the semifinals on the March 7 and the championship game on March 12. The first two rounds will be played on campus sites, with the championship game played on the highest remaining seed's home floor.
2009-10 Colgate Men’s Basketball schedule