GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- In Jay Joyner’s first full season as the head men’s basketball coach at North Carolina A&T, the Aggies will play twice in Louisiana, twice in Georgia and will also compete in California, Indiana and Massachusetts. The Aggies released their 2016-17 schedule on Friday. It includes 13 home games, the Gotham City Classic, two road games against ACC competition and their non-conference crosstown rivalry game against UNC Greensboro."We are extremely excited about our upcoming schedule," said Joyner. "We want to have momentum going into the conference schedule. In order to build momentum, you need to compile wins in the non-conference portion of the schedule. We think there are some wins there, it's just a matter of following the game plan and executing."
In what has become a common occurrence, the Aggies open the season against Division III Greensboro College. The two Greensboro occupants face off at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11 at Corbett Sports Center. It will mark the fourth time in five seasons the Aggies have opened the season against The Pride. Three days later the Aggies return to Greenville, N.C., for a matchup against East Carolina. The East Carolina game is the first of four rematches the Aggies will have over their non-conference schedule.
Another return game is up next for the Aggies as they travel to Louisiana to take on Grambling State on Nov. 17. Last season the Aggies defeated the Tigers 61-47 at Corbett Sports Center on Dec. 17. The next contest is only four miles away from GSU as Louisiana Tech and N.C. A&T will play one another on Nov. 19. It will be the first meeting between the two teams.
November closes out with home games against NAIA school Allen University (Nov. 23) and Jacksonville (Nov. 26) before the Aggies and UNCG meet at the Greensboro Coliseum on Nov. 29. The Aggies have won four straight over the Spartans.
December opens with a home game against North Dakota State. The Bison were 77-56 winners last November against the Aggies at Scheels Arena in Fargo. The Aggies then make their first-ever trip to South Bend, Ind., to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Dec. 4. After more than a week without competition, the Aggies return to action with games in the Gotham Classic.
Four teams make up that classic including N.C. A&T, University of Massachusetts, Pacific, Rider and Kennesaw State. The Aggies play at UMass (Dec. 13) and Pacific (Dec. 15) before playing at home against Rider on Dec. 18. N.C. A&T ends the classic at Kennesaw State on Dec. 22. Before 2016 comes to an end, the Aggies will play at Georgia Tech on Dec. 28.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play begins at the home of the two-time defending MEAC champions Hampton Pirates on Jan. 4. N.C. A&T will follow that game by hosting a two-game homestand against Delaware State on Jan. 7 and Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 9. The Aggies have a non-conference game squeezed into their MEAC schedule with a game at St. Louis on Feb. 4.
The conference regular-season closes out with a three-game homestand versus Savannah State (Feb. 25), Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 27) and rival North Carolina Central (March 2).
"Of course we want to win the conference regular-season," said Joyner. "The next best thing, however, is finishing in the top four going into the tournament. If we can play well enough to position ourselves finish near the top, we will be in great shape come tournament time."
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NCAT 2016-17 Men's Basketball Schedule
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (ET)
Fri, Nov 11 Greensboro College Corbett Sports Center 7:00 PM
Mon, Nov 14 East Carolina at Greenville, N.C. TBA
Thu, Nov 17 Grambling State at Grambling, La. TBA
Sat, Nov 19 Louisiana Tech at Ruston, La. TBA
Wed, Nov 23 Allen University Corbett Sports Center TBA
Sat, Nov 26 Jacksonville Corbett Sports Center 4:00 PM
Tue, Nov 29 UNC Greensboro at Greensboro, N.C. TBA
Fri, Dec 02 North Dakota State Corbett Sports Center 7:00 PM
Sun, Dec 04 Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind. TBA
Tue, Dec 13University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Mass TBA
Thu, Dec 15 Pacific University at Stockton, Calif. TBA
Sun, Dec 18 Rider Corbett Sports Center 1:00 PM
Thu, Dec 22 Kennesaw State at Kennesaw, Ga. TBA
Wed, Dec 28 Georgia Tech at Atlanta, Ga. TBA
Wed, Jan 04 Hampton * at Hampton, Va. TBA
Sat, Jan 07 Delaware State * Corbett Sports Center 4:00 PM
Mon, Jan 09 Maryland Eastern Shore * Corbett Sports Center 7:30 PM
Sat, Jan 14 Coppin State * at Baltimore, Md. TBA
Mon, Jan 16 Morgan State * at Baltimore, Md. TBA
Sat, Jan 21 Howard * Corbett Sports Center 4:00 PM
Sat, Jan 28 N.C. Central * at Durham, N.C. TBA
Mon, Jan 30 Norfolk State * at Norfolk, Va. TBA
Wed, Feb 01 Delaware State * at Dover, Del. TBA
Sat, Feb 04 St. Louis University at St. Louis, Mo. TBA
Sat, Feb 11 Florida A&M * Corbett Sports Center 4:00 PM
Mon, Feb 13 S.C. State * Corbett Sports Center 7:30 PM
Sat, Feb 18 Howard * at Washington, D.C. TBA
Mon, Feb 20 Maryland Eastern Sh ore * at Princess Anne, Md. TBA
Sat, Feb 25 Savannah State * Corbett Sports Center 4:00 PM
Mon, Feb 27 Bethune-Cookman * Corbett Sports Center 7:30 PM
Thu, Mar 02 N.C. Central * Corbett Sports Center 7:30 PM
Mon, Mar 06 - Sat, Mar 11 MEAC Tournament at Norfolk, Va. TBA
* Conference Games
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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