NEWARK, Del. -- A berth in the NIT Season Tip-Off and a trip to Duke
highlight a challenging University of Delaware men's basketball 2012-13
non-conference schedule announced Monday, as the Blue Hens could face
six teams that advanced to postseason play last year.
The Blue Hens open their campaign on Saturday, Nov. 10 with a road game
at La Salle, which advanced to the Postseason NIT this past spring. UD
will be looking for its second win in as many years over the Explorers
following a 70-66 triumph in Newark a season ago.
Delaware will then play its first two games in the NIT Season Tip-Off on
either Nov. 12-13 or Nov. 13-14 at the University Virginia. The Blue
Hens will play their first game of the tournament against Fairfield,
before facing either Penn or the host Cavaliers the following night.
Fairfield advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament semifinals this
past year, while Virginia finished fourth in the Atlantic Coast
Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Penn joined Delaware in
the College Basketball Invitational, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Should UD win both of those games, the Blue Hens would advance to the
semifinals and would play two games at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 21
and Nov. 23. If Delaware does not win both contests, the Hens will play
two games in a sub pod on Nov. 19 and No. 20 at a site to be determined.
Delaware then heads to North Broad Street to face Temple on Sunday, Nov.
25 in a rematch of last season's exciting game at the Bob Carpenter
Center, when the Owls escaped Newark with a 66-63 victory. Temple
claimed the Atlantic 10 regular season championship a year ago and
earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Hens then close the month on Wednesday, Nov. 28 when they
travel to Easton to face long-time East Coast Conference rival Lafayette.
Delaware finishes up its stretch of road games on Saturday, Dec. 1 when
the Blue Hens head to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face ACC power Duke. The
Blue Devils finished second in the conference standings last year,
earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and ended the year ranked
No. 8 in the Associated Press poll. The contest will be the second
all-time meeting between Delaware and Duke, as the Blue Devils edged UD,
79-73, on Dec. 19, 1995.
After playing their first eight games of the season away from Newark,
the Blue Hens will make their Carpenter Center debut on Tuesday, Dec. 4
with a home game against Radford. Delaware will then renew the Route 1
Rivalry when the Hens host Delaware State on Saturday, Dec. 8.
Following a week off for final exams, Delaware heads to the Main Line to
face Big East opponent Villanova on Sunday, Dec. 16 at The Pavilion. The
Blue Hens then close their non-conference schedule with a pair of home
games, hosting Penn on Friday, Dec. 21 and welcoming Rider to the BCC on
Monday, Dec. 31.
For the first time in eight years, the Blue Hens will not be
participating in the BracketBusters event this upcoming season.
Delaware will again play 18 Colonial Athletic Association games this
year, with the full schedule expected to be announced in the fall.
AGATE
University of Delaware 2012-13 Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
Nov. 10 at La Salle; Nov. 12-14 at NIT Season Tip-Off (at Virginia);
Nov. 19-23 at NIT Season Tip-Off (site TBA); Nov. 25 at Temple; Nov. 28
at Lafayette; Dec. 1 at Duke; Dec. 4 vs. Radford; Dec. 8 vs. Delaware
State; Dec. 16 at Villanova; Dec. 21 vs. Penn; Dec. 31 vs. Rider
