SHREVEPORT�-Centenary men's basketball coach Greg Gary has announced the 2008-09 Gents schedule and fans will notice it is chalked full of big names. Followers will also notice that the Gents will be playing just one home contest until their first Gold Dome Summit League match up on January 8th.
Gary's first season at the helm of the Centenary program will see the Gents take on four Big 12 squads, two SEC schools, one of the elite teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, and one from the WAC. That is eight of the 12 road non-conference tilts the Maroon and White will tackle in 2008-09. Also on the docket are two games with perennial Southland contender, and local rival, Northwestern State.
The Gents kick off the season with a Nov. 15th game at Mississippi State and then host Baylor three days later on the 18th, both were NCAA Tournament teams last season. The battle with the Bears will be the last home game for Centenary for nearly two months.
Gary will then take his team to the LSU Men's Classic, a tournament that takes place over two consecutive weekends (Nov. 20-22 & Nov. 28-30). The Gents will face LSU, Alcorn State, and Troy, along with the first meeting with NSU of the season, in the round-robin format. Sandwiched between the back-to-back weekends in Baton Rouge will be a road game at Wichita State on Nov. 24th.
December begins with the second meeting between the Demons of NSU and the Gents. The two programs will collide for the 153rd time in school history on Dec. 1st in Natchitoches. It is the oldest active rivalry in Louisiana.
Summit League play opens briefly on Dec. 4th and 6th as Centenary travels to face South Dakota State and North Dakota State. The Gents will finally play back in their own area when they meet up with Louisiana Tech at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City on Dec. 13th, but the Bulldogs will be the home team. The Bulldogs and Gents will be squaring off for the 126th time.
Three consecutive Big 12 road tilts are up next as Centenary travels to take on 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Missouri on Dec. 20th, 23rd, and 30th respectively. The new year finally ends the lengthy road trip with one last away game at last year's Summit League champion Oral Roberts, another 2008 NCAA Tournament participant, on Jan. 2nd. In all, the Gents will play 13 consecutive games as the visiting team and 14 of their first 15 games outside of the Gold Dome.
Summit League foes Oakland and IPFW come to town on Jan. 8th and 10th and the Gents play at Western Illinois and IUPUI the following week. Centenary's longest home stand of the season (three games) will feature Southern Utah on Jan. 22nd, UMKC on Jan. 24th, and Oral Roberts on Jan. 31st.
February has the Gents traveling to IPFW and Oakland on the first weekend of the month. IUPUI and Western Illinois are then welcomed to the Gold Dome on Feb. 12th and 14th, just ahead of Centenary's final road trip of the year at Southern Utah and UMKC on the 19th and 21st. Gary's squad closes out the regular season with home games against North and South Dakota State on Feb. 26th and 28th.
Although Gary knows his first schedule will have its challenges, he is positive about the opportunity to have his team go up against the best. "This schedule allows us to play against people in the best conferences in the country," Gary said. "It will prepare us for The Summit League and I am excited for our players and staff to be challenged every night we step on the court."
The Summit League Tournament will be hosted by the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, March 7-10, 2009. The top eight teams will advance to the championship event.
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Complete 2008-09 Gents Basketball Schedule
N15 at Mississippi State
N18 Baylor
N20-21 at LSU Men's Classic (Alcorn State, LSU, NSU, or Troy)
N24 at Wichita State
N28-29 at LSU Men's Classic (Alcorn State, LSU, NSU, or Troy)
D1 at Northwestern State
D4 at South Dakota State*
D6 at North Dakota State*
D13 at Louisiana Tech (CenturyTel Center)
D20 at Kansas State
D23 at Texas Tech
D30 at Missouri
J2 at Oral Roberts*
J8 Oakland*
J10 IPFW*
J15 at Western Illinois*
J17 at IUPUI*
J22 Southern Utah*
J24 UMKC*
J31 Oral Roberts*
F5 at IPFW*
F7 at Oakland*
F12 IUPUI*
F14 Western Illinois*
F19 at Southern Utah*
F21 at UMKC*
F26 North Dakota State*
F28 South Dakota State*
M7-10 at Summit League Tournament
