College notes: Here’s who 49ers, Wildcats face in nonconference
We now know who the Charlotte 49ers and Davidson Wildcats will be playing as nonconference opponents in men’s basketball this season.
Each of the area’s schools announced their nonconference schedules earlier this week.
Mecklenburg County’s other Division 1 program, Queen University of Charlotte, already has announced its schedule.
The 49ers, under new head coach Wes Miller, will play exhibitions against Georgia and North Carolina, before opening the regular season Nov. 2 at Indiana State.
Charlotte’s home opener will be Nov. 5 against Georgia State.
Davidson, under head coach Matt McKillop, also opens it season on the road, traveling to Washington State. The Wildcats then return hope for a Nov. 7 contest against Mercer.
Queens, which made a magical run to the NCAA Tournament last year after winning the ASUN championship, has exhibition games in October against Catawba, Charleston Southern and Johnson C. Smith.
The Royals open the regular season with a 9 a.m. game Nov. 2 at Winthrop. That will be part of ESPN’s opening day marathon. Queens then travels west for games against Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma State and BYU, before returning home for a Nov. 14 contest against Wofford.
Here are some highlights and the teams’ nonconference schedules:
CHARLOTTE 49ERS
The 49ers play at Seton Hall in mid-November and then compete in the Fort Myers Tip-Off (as does Davidson) on Thanksgiving week.
Charlotte is at home six times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the schedule includes a Dec. 13 contest against Johnson C. Smith. It is the first time in recent years that the Golden Bulls have faced one of Mecklenburg’s Division 1 schools.
Oct. 16: at Georgia (exhibition)
Oct. 27: at North Carolina (exhibition)
Nov. 2: at Indiana State
Nov. 5: Georgia State
Nov. 9: at Seton Hall
Nov. 13: App State
Nov. 17: at Davidson
Nov. 23: Florida Gulf Coast (in Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Nov. 25: Northern Iowa (in Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Nov. 29: Western Carolina
Dec. 2: Charleston
Dec. 6: North Alabama
Dec. 13: Johnson C. Smith
Dec. 15: Iona
Dec. 18: at Illinois-Chicago
Dec. 22: N.C. A&T
DAVIDSON
The Wildcats play nine home games before conference play begins, including four in December.
In addition to the Fort Myers event, Davidson plays Dec. 18 in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. The Wildcats meet Drake, with Missouri State facing Iowa State in the other game.
Nov. 2: at Washington State
Nov. 7: Mercer
Nov. 10: Bradley
Nov. 14: Howard
Nov. 17: Charlotte
Nov. 23: Northern Iowa (in Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Nov. 25: Tulane (in Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Nov. 29: at Florida Atlantic
Dec. 2: Dartmouth
Dec. 5: at Charleston
Dec. 9: Campbell
Dec. 12: USC Upstate
Dec. 18: Drake (in Hall of Fame Classic, Kansas City)
Dec. 22: UT Martin
QUEENS
The Royals have arguably the toughest nonconference schedule of the Mecklenburg schools.
In addition to the Oklahoma State and BYU games, Queens visits LSU, Houston, Colorado State and Baylor before opening conference play Dec. 19.
The Royals will be road warriors. Only three of their 14 nonconference games will be at home.
Oct. 14: Catawba (exhibition)
Oct. 22: at Charleston Southern (exhibition)
Oct. 26: Johnson C. Smith (exhibition)
Nov. 2: vs. Winthrop (at Rock Hill Sports and Event Center)
Nov. 4: at Loyola Marymount
Nov. 6: at Oklahoma State
Nov. 10: at BYU
Nov. 14: Wofford
Nov. 21: at LSU
Nov. 24: at Wofford
Nov. 29: at Houston
Dec. 2: Coastal Carolina
Dec. 5: at Gardner-Webb
Dec. 8: at Colorado State
Dec. 9: at Baylor
Dec. 14: at Sacred Heart
Dec. 16: UNC Asheville
49er commitment
The Charlotte 49ers have landed one of the state’s top high school seniors in basketball. Mason Robinson, a 6-10 frontcourt standout at Greensboro Day, committed to the 49ers last week. Analysts list speed and interior defense as his strengths.
More schedule news
Charlotte: The 49ers’ women’s team has announced its nonconference schedule, which includes five home games. The opener is Nov. 2 against Richmond.
Charlotte also is home Nov. 9 (Longwood), Nov. 18 (Wofford), Dec. 2 (Kennesaw State) and Dec. 16 (Winthrop). The road schedule includes games at Texas Tech (Nov. 5), at Davidson (Nov. 21), and contests against UCF (Nov. 27) and Texas A&M (Nov. 28) in the Florida Gulf Classic.
Big South: The Big South announced its men’s basketball conference schedule earlier this week.
Opening games are on New Years Day, with Gardner-Webb visiting Winthrop that day. The conference’s nine teams will play a round-robin 16-game conference schedule, prior to the conference tournament March 3-7 in Johnson City, Tenn.
Winthrop and powerhouse High Point meet Jan. 20 in Rock Hill and Feb. 18 at High Point.
Just noting
App State will mark the 20th anniversary of its national championship football team at the Mountaineers’ Oct. 10 home game against Old Dominion. That’s also homecoming weekend in Boone, with a 1 p.m. kickoff.
That 2006 team lost its opener at N.C. State, then ran off 14 straight wins behind freshman quarterback Armanti Edwards. He was among seven first-team all-America selections on that team.
Edwards rushed for 1,153 yards and passed for 2,251 more that season.
The ACC/SEC Challenge for men is set for Dec. 1-2. Duke, which is expected to be the ACC preseason favorite, faces Florida at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 1 in Gainesville, Fla., with ESPN covering. North Carolina plays at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at home against Arkansas (ESPN).
Fans who might have been hoping for an LSU-N.C. State matchup, with former Wolfpack coach Will Wade now at LSU, are out of luck. LSU hosts Wake Forest at 9 p.m. Dec. 1 (SEC Network).
The Dec. 1 schedule (home team listed second): Boston College-Georgia, 5 p.m. (ESPN2); Florida State-Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2); Auburn-Clemson, 7 p.m. (ESPNU); South Carolina-N.C. State, 7 p.m. (ACC Network); Pittsburgh-Missouri, 7 p.m. (SEC Network); Arkansas-North Carolina, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN).
Also, Texas-Louisville, 9 p.m. (ESPN2); Syracuse-Oklahoma, 9 p.m. (ESPNU); Ole Miss-Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. (ACC Network); Wake Forest-LSU, 9 p.m. (SEC Network); Duke-Florida, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN).
The Dec. 2 schedule: Kentucky-Virginia, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN); Vanderbilt-Notre Dame, 7:15 p.m. (ACC Network); Alabama-Miami, 9:15 p.m. (ESPN); Stanford-Texas A&M, 9:15 p.m. (ESPNU); Georgia Tech-Mississippi State, 9:15 p.m. (SEC Network).
Lenoir-Rhyne golfer Eve Neild has been named South Atlantic Conference Golfer of the Week. She qualified for the NCAA Division 2 tournament a year ago and recently finished 16th in a tough field at the Savannah Lakes Women’s Fall Invitational.
Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer team is sixth in the most recent NCAA Division 1 RPI rankings. The 49ers have the nation’s No. 1 strength of schedule.
