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Campbell sets 2003-04 men's basketball schedule Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003 By Stan Cole |
BUIES CREEK, N.C. (BP)--A challenging 2003-04 schedule awaits first-year head coach Robbie Laing and his young Campbell University men's basketball team.In addition to a full 20-game Atlantic Sun Conference slate, the Camels will face non-league opponents from Conference-USA, as well as Southeastern, Southern, Colonial and Big South foes. "This is a challenging schedule, particularly given the fact that we have nine players in the freshman and sophomore classes, and all 13 of our guys will be playing under a new system for the first time," said Coach Laing, who was appointed in April. "We have a very short time to prepare for a very difficult conference schedule." The Fighting Camels open on Sat., Nov. 22 at East Carolina of Conference-USA. A long-time rival, dating to the 1931-32 season, East Carolina leads the all-time series with Campbell by a 35-18 margin following last year's 86-61 Pirate win at Fayetteville, N.C. The home opener is set for Tues., Nov. 25 when UNC Greensboro visits Carter Gym for the first of two games between the schools in a two-week span. Former rivals in the Big South, Campbell and the Spartans have not played since the 1995-96 campaign, two years after the Camels left the Big South and shortly before UNCG moved to the Southern Conference. Campbell has won five of the nine meetings all-time between the schools. Campbell visits SEC member South Carolina on the Saturday following Thanksgiving (Nov. 29) to face Coach Dave Odom's Gamecocks for the sixth time. Campbell last played at USC in Dec. 1999 (an 86-64 setback) before Odom left Wake Forest for Columbia. The Fighting Camels' only victory against a Southeastern Conference school came at USC on Jan. 12, 1994 when the Camels won 73-72 in overtime. The Gamecocks lead the overall series by a 4-1 margin. The highlight of the non-conference home schedule comes two days later on Mon., Dec. 1 when UNC Wilmington visits Carter Gym for the first time in more than 26 years. The Seahawks are coming off their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, a 24-win season, and second-straight Colonial Athletic Association title. Campbell's most frequent rival in men's basketball, UNCW holds a 52-39 edge in the all-time series with the Camels, including a 31-7 advantage since Campbell joined the NCAA Division I ranks. However, the Seahawks have not played at Buies Creek since they defeated the Camels 72-64 on Feb. 3, 1977 in Carter Gym, Campbell's last season at the NAIA ranks. While UNCW has been a regular opponent for CU during its 26-year Division I alliance, Campbell's previous "home" games vs. the Seahawks have been held primarily in Fayetteville at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Three other CU-UNCW games were played at the Raleigh Civic Center, and the teams met twice at Harnett Central High School in the late 1970s. "With ECU, South Carolina and UNCW as three of our first four opponents, we definitely have a challenging schedule. But that is something that Campbell fans can look forward to in the future. We are always going to try to schedule aggressively in the effort to advance our program to its highest potential," Coach Laing said. Following a week-long break for final exams, Campbell plays at UNC Greensboro on Dec. 9, its final game before opening Atlantic Sun play with a pair of games before Christmas. The Atlantic Sun Conference regular season begins for the Camels at home on Mon., Dec. 15 when the University of Central Florida visits Carter Gym. The Golden Knights advanced to the 2003 A-Sun tourney title game and were one of four A-Sun teams to garner at least 20 wins last season. UCF owns a 16-7 edge in the all-time series vs. Campbell. Florida Atlantic -- which won the 2002 A-Sun tourney but fell to a 7-21 mark last year -- plays at Carter Gym on Wed., Dec. 17. Campbell has won 10 of the 16 meetings between the schools since the series started in the 1995-96 campaign. After playing a 16-game schedule divided into two divisions last season, the A-Sun slate returns to a 20-game, double round-robin format in 2003-04. Campbell also travels to Florida Atlantic (Feb. 26) and UCF (Feb. 28) in the final two dates of the year. "The toughest conference in the country is always the one that you play in, and we don't have long to get ready for it because we play a pair of games before Christmas," Coach Laing said. "There is a lot of parity in the league, a lot of teams with returning players, and we will have to be ready to compete at a high level every night." The Camels close the pre-Christmas portion of their slate at Coastal Carolina on Sat., Dec. 20. Campbell has won 18 of the 30 games played against Coastal in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. The schools, which were charter members of the Big South Conference, have played every year since 1997-98, but in the last five meetings, the home team has won each game. Campbell defeated Coastal 65-49 on Nov. 30, 2002 at Carter Gym. The Camels stand 5-6 all-time at Coastal's on-campus Kimbel Arena. Following a 10-day Christmas break, Campbell closes out the non-conference schedule on Dec. 30 at William and Mary. In one of last season's most exciting games, W&M pulled out an 82-80 victory at Carter Gym on the strength of Adam Hess' 31-point effort. The Tribe holds a 4-1 edge in the all-time series, including a 2-0 advantage at W&M Hall. Defending A-Sun tournament champion Troy State, coming off a 26-6 campaign, visits Carter Gym on Sat., Jan. 3 for a 1:00 p.m. game that will be televised in the Raleigh and Fayetteville markets on PAX-TV. Coach Laing's alma mater posted a 14-2 league record last year, then won each of its three games in the A-Sun Championship by at least 10 points. The Trojans saw their post-season run come to a close at the hands of Xavier (71-59) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Since joining the Atlantic Sun in 1997-98, Troy State has posted a 10-0 record against the Camels. However, six of those contests have been decided by seven, or fewer, points. Campbell visits Trojan Arena on Wed., Jan. 28. Campbell then makes a two-game trip through the A-Sun membership in the State of Georgia. The Camels hope to end a seven-game slide against Georgia State on Jan. 8. The Panthers hold an 11-4 advantage in the series with the Camels, including a pair of wins for Coach Mike Perry in 2002-03. On Jan. 10, Campbell plays at Mercer, the top-seeded club in last year's A-Sun Tournament. The Bears reeled off a 14-2 league mark and 23-6 overall record during 2002-03 and return a first-team all-conference performer in senior forward Scott Emerson. Mercer has won four of its last five games against Campbell to take a 7-6 lead in the all-time series between the schools. Mercer (Feb. 12) and Georgia State (Feb. 14) visit Carter Gym for Campbell's final two home games of the regular season. CU's Valentine's Day game against GSU will be televised in the Raleigh and Fayetteville markets by PAX-TV. Gardner-Webb visits Carter Gym on Wed., Jan. 14 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off. Last year, the Camels and Bulldogs split two league games, with each winning on its home floor. CU won a 76-74 decision at Buies Creek, before the Bulldogs overcame a 31-point effort by Campbell's Tarick Johnson to win 81-69 at Boiling Springs. Campbell's Feb. 20 date at Gardner-Webb will be televised by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast as part of the A-Sun television package. A three-game home stand continues with Jacksonville (Jan. 17) and Stetson (Jan. 19) making appearances at Carter. Coach Hugh Durham's Dolphins have won four of the last five meetings with the Camels and own a 5-4 edge in the all-time series. Stetson has claimed 13 victories in 20 all-time meetings with CU, including a 69-57 triumph at DeLand, Fla., last season. Campbell travels to Stetson on Feb. 5, then visits Jacksonville two days later. After splitting two non-conference games with Lipscomb during the 2002-03 campaign, the Camels and Bisons meet for the first time as A-Sun rivals on Jan. 22 at Nashville. Less than 48 hours thereafter, the Camels get their first look at Belmont's brand-new, 5000-seat Curb Events Center. Belmont won the A-Sun North Division crown last year with a 12-4 mark and 17-12 overall record. Belmont leads the series with CU 5-1 and has won four-straight games against the Camels since joining the league in 2001-02. Campbell travels to Troy State on Jan. 28, then returns home to host Lipscomb (Jan. 31) and Belmont (Feb. 2) in its next two games. "We're going to try and get better each week, try to be a very formidable opponent come January and February, and get into the A-Sun Tournament. Once you are there, it's a three-game season and anything can happen to get into the NCAAs. But we will be very patient and nurturing with our young team and a new system," Coach Laing said. The Atlantic Sun Championship will be played Mar. 4-6 at the Curb Events Center on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. The top eight teams in the 11-school A-Sun standings will compete for the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Gardner-Webb and Lipscomb are ineligible for the automatic bid while completing moves to full NCAA Division I status. Senior Tarick Johnson, the A-Sun's second leading scorer last year at 17.1 points per game, tops the list of returning players for the Camels. Also back are junior Dominique Klein and sophomore Robby Dupre, both of whom are A-Sun All-Freshman Team honorees, as well as Academic All-District forward Brad McKeiver, a red-shirt junior. --30--
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