Non-Conference Mens Bball Schedule Announced

[pdiddybull32]

USF Announces 2005-06 Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule

TAMPA, Fla. (Wednesday, June 29) – Eight teams and two December tournaments comprise the non-conference portion of the 2005-06 USF men’s basketball schedule as announced by head coach Robert McCullum today. USF fans will be treated to six home games during the first two months of the season. This home-court advantage will help the Bulls as they prepare for their first season in BIG EAST action. Two high quality tournaments accent the remainder of the Bulls’ non-conference schedule with the Price Cutter Classic, hosted by Southwest Missouri State and one the premier events in the nation – The 42nd Annual Rainbow Classic, hosted by the University of Hawaii.

The Bulls open up their non-conference schedule at home on Nov. 18 facing Alcorn State. The Braves are a six-time NCAA Tournament participant. USF leads the all-time series, posting a record of 3-0 with all three games taking place at the Sun Dome.

USF continues its non-conference homestand facing in-state foe Jacksonville on Nov. 25. The former Sun Belt Conference opponents will face off for the 44th time with the last meeting between the two squads taking place on Nov. 24, 1997 (a 69-57 USF victory).

The Bulls will hit the road to play Florida International on Nov. 29. Both teams faced each other last season on Dec. 20 with USF getting the 74-66 win, and improving their all-time record over FIU to 10-1.

USF will next travel to Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Mo., to take part in the Price Cutter Classic (Dec. 2-3). Participating in the tournament will be Georgia Southern, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and host institution Southwest Missouri State. The Bulls opening round opponent will be the Texas-A&M Corpus Christi Islanders on Dec. 2. The Islanders finished the 2004-05 season with a school-record 20-8 mark. This will mark the first-ever meeting between USF and A&M-Corpus Christi, who helped head coach Ronnie Arrow earn his 200th win as an NCAA Division I coach. The winner of the Bulls, Islanders contest will face the winner of the Georgia Southern, Southwest Missouri State game.

On Dec. 6, USF travels to DeLand, Fla. to play Stetson. The Bulls enter the 2005-06 season on an eight-game win streak against the Hatters, with their last win coming on Nov. 26, 2004, in the Sun Dome, 93-65.

One of the highlights of the 2005-06 season will be when USF hosts Big Ten member Michigan on Dec. 10 in a doubleheader with the USF women’s basketball team (vs. Michigan State). During last season, the game between the Bulls and the Wolverines was the second all-time between the two, with Michigan posting the 71-62 win.

USF hosts FAU on Dec. 15. The last matchup between the two teams came in the 2003-04 season with the Bulls getting the 73-56 win at home.

The Bulls will next travel to Honolulu, Hawaii to participate in the highly-selective Rainbow Classic (Dec. 20-23). Along with USF, eight teams will play in the annual event (Hawaii, Iowa State, Colorado State, Oregon State, Western Michigan, Northwestern State and Loyola Marymount). The Bulls’ first opponent in the 42nd edition of the classic has yet to be determined. Hawaii was last year’s Rainbow Classic champion. Iowa State went 19-12 (9-7 in the Big 12), winning 11 of its last 15 games to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones fell to eventual-National Champions North Carolina (92-65) in the second round. Colorado State fell to top-seeded Utah in the Mountain West Tournament to end its 2004-05 season with an 11-17 (3-11 in the Mountain West) record. The Beavers of Oregon State (17-15, 8-10 Pac 10) earned a bid to the post-season NIT, falling to Cal State Fullerton during the first round, 85-83, in overtime. Western Michigan (coach McCullum’s former squad) is the fifth team of this year’s classic. The Broncos went 20-13 (11-7 in the MAC) last season. Northwestern State (21-12, 13-3 Southland) advanced to the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament finals, falling to Southeastern Louisiana, 49-42. The final team of the 2005 Rainbow Classic is the Loyola Marymount Lions. The Lions finished 2004-05 with an 11-17 (3-11 in the West Coast Conference) record.

USF will host Bethune-Cookman in the 13th meeting all-time between the two squads on Dec. 28 as part of a doubleheader with the USF women’s basketball team. USF defeated the Bethune-Cookman last year 89-64 in Lakeland, Fla.

The final game of the Bulls’ non-conference schedule welcomes a familiar face to the Sun Dome in UAB on Dec. 30. Former Conference USA foe UAB, who still remains in that conference, defeated the Bulls twice last year-once at the Sun Dome, 62-61 (Jan. 8) and once in Birmingham, 85-71 (Jan. 29). Overall, the Blazers own a 34-19 all-time record against the Bulls. UAB (22-11, 10-6 C-USA) made it to the NCAA Tournament last season, before losing to Arizona, 85-63, in the second round of the Chicago Regional.

The BIG EAST portion of the 2005-06 schedule has yet to be released. Game times and television information will be released as soon as they are confirmed.

2005-06 USF Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule

Date Day Opponent Time ET

Nov. 18 Friday Alcorn State TBA

Nov. 25 Friday Jacksonville TBA

Nov. 29 Tuesday at Florida International TBA

Dec. 2-3 Fri.-Sat. at Price Cutter Classic (Springfield Mo.) TBA

(SW Missouri State, Georgia Southern, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

Dec. 6 Tuesday at Stetson TBA

Dec. 10 Saturday Michigan TBA

(doubleheader with USF women’s basketball)

Dec. 15 Thursday FAU TBA

Dec. 20-23 Tues.-Fri. at Rainbow Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii) TBA

(Hawaii, Iowa State, Colorado State, Oregon State,

Western Michigan, Northwestern State, Loyola Marymount)

Dec. 28 Wednesday Bethune-Cookman TBA

(doubleheader with USF women’s basketball)

Dec. 30 Friday UAB TBA

[GarySJ]

Whatever happened to Valparaiso? Weren't we supposed to play them at home at some point?

[Markeymark]

This looks like a very manageable out-of-conference schedule, but by the same token we might not get many wins in the Big East portion of the schedule so savor the wins over the mid-majors!

I'm really happy to see five in-state opponents on the schedule. It raises USF's profile within the state of Florida, generates more fan interest and cuts down on travel expenses.

I'm not sure yet if I'll still be in Hawaii in December, if so I will get to as many games as I can.

[Velcro]

Was the valpo a home and home series?

and does the home game have to come the year after or before the away game in a home and home?

[RHBullsFan]

Nice to see us pull Michigan at home. Still miss having either FSU or UF on that schedule though.

[USFDan]

I also wonder if USC is supposed to be a Home and Home?

[ucfknights04]

Great OOC and schedule - you guys have played Michigan for few years now right?  Just wondering how that deal got started and how long it lasts.  Definitely good to have!  

We've figured out about half our OOC games so far, having to schedule more now that C-USA plays 14 games while A-Sun played 20.  Specifics can be found on our boards, as to not twist this thread.

[Velcro]

We played mich state a few times under SG because of Izzo being SG's buddy (or something along that line).

1 game at mich st under Mac and 1 at Mich under mac so far, and 1 home game vs Mich now scheduled.  Mac was the W. Mich coach, so it was definitely a connection that got us the H&H.

[GarySJ]

My understanding is the South Carolina was a one-away game only.

I thought Valpo was home-and-away, but there has been no return date yet. It's been two seasons since we played at their place (RMC's first win if I recall) and I thought they'd be coming to Tampa at some point.

And I love the idea of a doubleheader vs. Michigan for the men and Michigan State for the women's team. All the Michigan fans will stick around to root for the Bulls against MSU, and vice versa. That was good thinking.

It's nice to see longtime rival UAB on the schedule, as a non-conference game. I hope that one will stick around, or at least rotate among old Sun Belt/Metro/CUSA rivals of ours (Memphis, Charlotte, Tulane). Maybe we could trot out the 1990 uniforms for retro night.

The Hawaii tourney is great too. I remember the Bulls pushing UCLA to overtime last time we went out there.

[The Sheriff]

Getting my tickets to Hawaii in two weeks... anyone else besides me going? Or will I be the one man fan like at Southern Miss in the famous Altron Jackson "Name that score" game?