Harder Schedule Faces A&T Men's Basketball In 2018-19

GREENSBORO, North Carolina – When a new schedule is paired with the same expectations from a team that won 20 games and played in the postseason, it can often make for an uneasy alliance.

But that is what the 2018-19 men’s basketball team is facing as their 2018-19 schedule is revealed. The Aggies have 10 new faces on the 2018-19 roster, they have a non-conference schedule that includes two ACC schools, two Big 10 schools and a rivalry game against a nearby opponent who made the NCAA tournament last season and who is expected to do well again this season.

Yet, fourth-year head coach Jay Joyner believes his 2018-19 team has a chance to build upon what the 2017-18 team accomplished even though it may not be evident right away.

“Our non-conference schedule is a little more challenging than it was last year,” said Joyner, the reigning MEAC coach of the year. “I still think there are some winnable games on our non-conference schedule, but we’re going to be playing at some tough arenas, so we’re going to get tested early. But I expect us to be well prepared for conference play. We want our fans to see us making our biggest strides at that time.”

2018-19 A&T Men's Basketball Schedule

N.C. A&T went 20-15 last season, finished tied for fourth in the conference at 11-5, finished 12-0 at home and reached the MEAC tournament semifinals for the first time in five years. For their efforts, they were awarded an at-large bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they faced Liberty in the first round.

The Aggies will put their 13-game home winning streak on the line to begin the season with their Market Street rivalry against UNC Greensboro 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 6 at Corbett Sports Center. The Spartans are coming off a 27-win season where they won the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles before losing as a No. 13 seed to No. 4 Gonzaga, 68-64. The Aggies have won four out of five from UNCG, but the Spartans won the last matchup between the two teams at the Greensboro Coliseum in 2016.

After playing UNCG at home, the Aggies hit the road for a long stretch in November starting with a Nov. 10 game a few miles down the road in Winston-Salem. The Aggies will face the ACC’s Wake Forest Demon Deacons for the first time in 14 years.

A former ACC school and current Big 10 member Maryland will host the Aggies two days later before the Aggies, with its fair share of New Yorkers, head to Hempstead, N.Y., to face Hofstra on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.

N.C. A&T will face Marshall (Nov. 19) and Mount Saint Mary’s (Nov. 21) on the road before they end November as they started it, at Corbett. A return game against Central Connecticut State 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 29 closes out the month. The Blue Devils defeated the Aggies in New Britain, Conn., last season.

December begins with two home games, one against Presbyterian 4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1 and the other against Greensboro College, Saturday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. Tennessee State will get their rematch against the Aggies 4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 15 as the two teams clash in Nashville, Tenn. N.C. A&T defeated the Tigers last season in Corbett.

Big 10 foe Minnesota welcomes the Aggies to frigid Minneapolis on Dec. 21 before the Aggies close out December with a road game at East Carolina. N.C. A&T pulled off the upset last season against the Pirates in Greenville, N.C.

Conference play begins 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 5 at S.C. State before non-conference play ends with a home game against Mid-Atlantic Christian, Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

The Aggies will get archrival and defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Champion N.C. Central for the first time on Jan. 26 in Durham at 4 p.m. The rematch will take place March 7 at 7:30 p.m., in Corbett. N.C. A&T will play co-regular-season champions Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State one time each. They face the B-CU Wildcats on Feb. 4, in Daytona Beach, Fla., at 7:30 p.m. They get the SSU Tigers on Feb. 25 at Corbett at 7:30 p.m.

“November is going to be really tough,” said Joyner. “We’re going to learn a lot about what kind of fight we have in us. We believe we have upgraded our talent, but we also upgraded our schedule. We hope both of those factors take us to the top of the league and deeper into the conference tournament.”

COURTESY: NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION