With eight
non-conference games versus schools from major conferences and a
16-game Southland Conference schedule, the 2008-09 Texas
A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team finds itself facing a
challenging slate.
Six teams on
the Islander schedule competed in the postseason a year ago.
Georgia and UT Arlington both reached the NCAA Tournament after
winning the Southeastern Conference and Southland Conference
Tournaments respectively.
Florida State and Stephen F. Austin both competed in the NIT. Tulsa
won the first-ever College Basketball Invitational with Islander
opponent Houston also in the field.
The Islanders
will face teams from several of the top leagues in the country.
They will take on teams from the Southeastern (Georgia), Big Ten
(Illinois and Northwestern), Conference USA (Tulsa, Houston, and
SMU), Big 12 (Oklahoma State) and Atlantic Coast Conferences
(Florida State).
"Our schedule
this season is extremely challenging," said Islander head coach
Perry Clark, who is set to begin his second year at the helm. "Our
schedule really picks up with the second game when we visit
Illinois. We play teams from four or five of the biggest
conferences in the country.
"With a team
that is as young as ours, the schedule is challenging, but I really
think it will help prepare us for the conference schedule down the
road."
A&M-Corpus
Christi will open the season against neighboring Texas
A&M-Kingsville on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. on Stripes Court at
the American Bank Center. It will be the first regular-season
meeting between the two sides.
From there the
Islanders hit the road for five straight games including four games
in the South Padre Invitational. They open the road trip with a
pair of games in Illinois. TAMUCC will face Illinois in Champaign
on Sunday, Nov 16 to start play in the Invitational. They will
remain in the area to face a second-straight Big 10 school as they
visit Northwestern that Wednesday at 7 p.m. before heading to Tulsa
for their second game in the tournament on Nov. 23 at 3 p.m.
The Islanders
return to the Lonestar State for the final two games of the South
Padre Invitational on Nov. 28 and 29. They will face Jackson State
that Friday at 2:30 before facing one of two teams from North
Carolina – North Carolina Central or UNC Wilmington the
following day.
A&M-Corpus
Christi returns to the American Bank Center for three of its next
four games. They host St. Edwards on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.
before heading to Fort Worth for a game with TCU on Dec. 6 at 7
p.m. The Islanders return to Stripes Court two days later to face
Texas A&M-International on Monday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
The home
portion of the non-conference slate will be highlighted with a
visit by Oklahoma State on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. It will be the
second visit to the American Bank Center by the Big 12 program.
When the Islanders and Cowboys met on Jan. 3, 2005, the two sides
played before the largest home crowd in TAMUCC history with 8,431
fans in attendance.
"Although we
don't have as many home games as we would like," said Clark. "The
Oklahoma State game will give fans a chance to see a quality
opponent at the American Bank Center."
Five straight
road games for the Islanders will close out the team's
non-conference schedule. Prior to Christmas, the team will head
East for a pair of games as TAMUCC will visit Savannah State on
Thursday, Dec. 18 and defending SEC Tournament Champion Georgia on
Monday, Dec. 22. Both games will start at 6 p.m. local time.
The Islanders
will finish out the calendar year at SMU on Wednesday, Dec. 31 with
a 6 p.m. contest before heading to Florida State that Saturday for
an afternoon tilt at 2 p.m. Non-conference play concludes with a
visit to Houston to face the Cougars on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7
p.m.
A&M-Corpus
Christi will begin Southland Conference play with a pair of home
games. On Saturday, Jan. 10, Central Arkansas comes to town for a 7
p.m. with Texas State coming to town the following Wednesday for a
night game.
Five of the
next seven SLC games find the Islanders hitting the road. They make
the first of three conference trips to the state of Louisiana on
Jan. 17 to visit Northwestern State at 2 p.m., before heading to
Lamar that Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game at the Montagne Center.
A visit by
rival UTSA is next on the schedule with the Roadrunners slated to
visit Saturday, Jan. 24. A new date for the game is being worked on
as the Shrine Circus is in town that weekend.
The Islanders
will visit Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. the following Saturday, Jan.
31 before defending tournament champion UT Arlington comes to the
American Bank Center on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
After a
Saturday trip to Nicholls State on Feb. 7 for an afternoon game at
3 p.m., TAMUCC heads to San
Marcos to face Texas State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Four of the
final seven games are at Stripes Court. The Bearkats visit
A&M-Corpus Christi on Valentine's Day (Saturday, Feb. 14, 1
p.m.) before the Islanders make a return trip to San Antonio on
Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
McNeese State
visits the Coastal Bend on Feb. 21 for an early afternoon game at 1
p.m. After visiting Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at
7 p.m., TAMUCC hosts SFA and Lamar for its final two home games of
the season. The Lumberjacks visit Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. with
the Cardinals in town on March 4 for a 7 p.m. contest. The regular
season concludes on March 7 when the Islanders visit UT Arlington
for a 4 p.m. clash.
The Southland
Conference Tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, March 10 at
the Merrell Center in Katy.
Season tickets
are now available for the upcoming schedule call (361) 825-BALL
(2255) for more information.
