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Campbell 2016-17 Season Tickets
2016-17 Campbell Men's Basketball Schedule
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – A trip to Oklahoma State, the Holy City Hoops Classic, a home date with regional rival UNCW, plus a double-round robin Big South Conference slate highlight the 2016-17 Campbell University men's basketball schedule.
Members of the Southern, Colonial and Atlantic Sun conferences will visit Buies Creek this season in addition to all nine Big South foes.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Kevin McGeehan, the Camels will embark on a 30-game regular season slate before the Big South Championship starts Feb. 28.
"We are excited to announce our schedule for the 2016-17 season," said McGeehan. "We believe the non-conference schedule will help prepare us for what will once again be a highly competitive Big South Conference. As always, we hope to be playing our best basketball next March. The opportunity to bring regional teams like UNCW, Samford and Stetson to Gore Arena, the chance to play Oklahoma State at one of the most-historic buildings in all of college basketball, as well as playing three solid mid-major programs in the Holy City Hoops Classic not only gives us a chance to compete, but also to show where we are as a program."
Along the way, the Camels will face schools from six different NCAA Division I conferences, including three from the Southern and two from the Atlantic Sun. The 18-game Big South Conference ledger begins at Longwood on Dec. 29 and continues two days later at home vs. Presbyterian.
With Big South membership now totaling 10 schools, the league schedule returns to a complete home-and-home format with no teams at home or on the road for more than two-consecutive dates.
Season tickets and flex plans now available
Season tickets are available for the 2016-17 Campbell men's basketball campaign and are just $150 for all men's and women's home games. In addition, five-game flex plans are available for only $40. Call 910-893-1459, email tickets@gocamels.com or visit GoCamels.com/tickets for more information.
Season opener at Big 12 member
Campbell will open its basketball campaign on the road for the first time since a 70-60 setback at 21st-ranked Virginia Tech in Nov. 2010. The Camels travel to Stillwater, Okla., Nov. 11 for the first-ever meeting between Campbell and Oklahoma State in basketball.
CU will play at historic Gallagher-Iba Arena, which was named the "Madison Square Garden of the Plains" upon its opening in 1938, and now seats 13,611 for basketball. Named for OSU's fabled wrestling coach Ed Gallagher and legendary basketball coach Henry Iba, the building is the focal part of the OSU Athletics Center.
The contest will mark Campbell's fourth all-time game against current Big 12 Conference members. CU fell at Baylor and TCU during the 1984-85 season and most-recently dropped an 88-68 decision at Iowa State in Nov. 2012.
Campbell stands 0-2 against members of "Power 5" conferences under the direction of McGeehan. CU played at NC State in Nov. 2013 and at 16th-ranked Ohio State one year later.
Oklahoma State is under the direction of Brad Underwood, who is in his first season at OSU after guiding Stephen F. Austin to three-straight Southland Conference titles. During his time at SFA, Underwood's teams claimed three-consecutive NCAA tournament berths and compiled an 89-14 (.864) record that included two NCAA tourney wins.
The Camels host Division III member Bridgewater on Tues., Nov. 15. Campbell has won its last 10 home openers, including all eight at Gore Arena. Overall, CU has won nine of its last 10 season-opening contests, the lone setback coming in 2010 at No-.21 Virginia Tech.
Campbell travels to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Morgan State on Sat., Nov. 19 in the return meeting of a home-and-home series. The Bears are led by head coach Todd Bozeman, who guided the team to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010. Morgan State claimed a narrow 59-54 win last year in Buies Creek.
Two days later (Nov. 21), Southern Conference member, and Campbell's former Atlantic Sun rival, Samford will play in Gore Arena for the first time. CU and Samford have met twice since the Bulldogs left the A-Sun, most recently a 65-56 SU triumph in Dec. 2014 at Birmingham. Scott Padgett, a former standout at 1998 national champion Kentucky, is in his third year as coach of the Bulldogs.
Former Big South rival – and current Southern Conference member – VMI is next on the Fighting Camel schedule (Nov. 26). After Chris Clemons' buzzer-beater gave Campbell a 66-65 win last year in Gore Arena, the Camels venture to Lexington, Va., to face the Keydets, who are guided by second-year head coach Dan Earl.
For the second-straight year, NAIA member Allen University will journey to Buies Creek (Nov. 28) to face the Camels. In last year's 110-66 triumph, Campbell made a school Division I era record 74.5 percent of its shots from the floor and set a Gore Arena mark for most points in a game as Chris Clemons led six Camels in double figures with 30 points.
The Allen game is Campbell's first in the Holy City Hoops Classic, which concludes with three games Dec. 2-4 on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
CU starts the event against former Atlantic Sun rival USC Upstate in a 7 p.m. tip on Fri., Dec. 2. The Camels won five of the eight meetings with the Spartans between 2007 and 2011 before CU re-joined the Big South Conference.
Patriot league member Colgate is Campbell's opponent on Dec. 3 at McAlister Field House. In the only previous meeting between the teams, the Raiders earned a 54-48 victory at Gore Arena in 2014-15 during the Buckeye Classic event.
Campbell and The Citadel conclude the Holy City Hoops Classic on Dec. 4. Last year in Buies Creek, Clemons set a school freshman class scoring record and led five Camels in double figures with 31 points as Campbell defeated The Citadel 101-82. CU shot 63 percent in the opening half and 58.5 percent for the game in an output that marked the most points scored by a Campbell team in more than three years. The Citadel is in its second year under the direction of former VMI head coach Duggar Baucom.
Over his first three years as head coach of the Camels, McGeehan has guided his team to a 5-1 record against members of the Southern Conference.
After a 10-day break for final exams, Campbell faces a stiff test when defending Colonial Athletic Association champion UNC Wilmington visits Buies Creek for a 7 p.m. start on Dec. 14 in the 102nd meeting between the Eastern North Carolina rivals. The teams have split the last eight contests with each school coming out on top on its home court. UNCW went 25-8 in 2015-16 and won the CAA tournament before falling 93-85 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to defending national champ Duke. Kevin Keatts has guided the Seahawks to a 43-22 record in two seasons.
Johnson & Wales will visit Gore Arena for the fourth-straight year, this time in the middle of a three-game, pre-Christmas Camel home stand on Dec. 19. Last season, the Camels rode a 20-0 run in the first half and went on to defeat the Wildcats of the USCAA 87-53.
Campbell will meet another former Atlantic Sun rival when Stetson journeys to Buies Creek for a 2 p.m. start on Dec. 22. The Camels won the last five meetings with its old rival before leaving the A-Sun following the 2010-11 campaign. CU stands 3-0 against the Hatters all-time at Gore Arena since the facility opened in 2008-09. Campbell is scheduled to travel to DeLand, Fla., to complete the home-and-home agreement in the 2017-18 season.
True double round-robin format for Big South schedule
For the first time since re-joining the Big South in 2011-12, Campbell will meet each of its league rivals twice during the regular season.
The Big South schedule starts Dec. 29 at Longwood, where the Lancers escaped with an 80-79 win over Campbell last February in a game where the score was tied 10 times and the lead changed on 10 occasions. Longwood journeys to Buies Creek on Thurs., Feb. 9.
Campbell then hosts Presbyterian in a 2 p.m. start on New Year's Eve at Gore Arena. CU has won five of the last seven meetings with the Blue Hose, including a 91-61 triumph last Feb. in Clinton, S.C., where the Camels shot 58 percent from the floor and finished with a 36-6 advantage in points off turnovers. PC will host the Camels Sat., Feb. 11.
The Camels host Charleston Southern on Wed., Jan. 4. The Bucs, who own a 25-23 edge in the all-time series after a split in 2015-16, will entertain CU Feb. 15 at the cozy CSU Fieldhouse.
Liberty, which fashioned a 10-8 Big South record last season under coach Richie McKay, host the Camels on Jan. 7. The teams split the 2014-15 season series, while the Flames captured the lone meeting between the schools last year, 55-52 at Lynchburg. Liberty also travels to Gore Arena for a Jan. 28 date with CU.
CU embarks on a Jan. 11 trip to Gardner-Webb. The Camels and Bulldogs divided the regular-season series last year with each team winning narrow decisions at home. However, Gardner-Webb ended Campbell's Big South tournament hopes for the third time in four years last March at Gore Arena. Campbell will host GWU Feb. 1.
Winthrop, which has reached the Big South final three years running, visits Gore Arena Jan. 14. Last year Campbell won 90-83 on New Year's Eve in Rock Hill, while Winthrop closed the regular season with a victory in Buies Creek. Campbell plays at Winthrop on Feb. 4.
CU's closest Big South rival, High Point, makes the short trip to Buies Creek on Jan. 19 and hosts the Camels on Feb. 23. The Panthers won the only meeting between the schools last season 73-63 in Buies Creek, but will face the 2016-17 campaign without graduated league player of the year John Brown, one of four starters lost from a 21-win team.
Defending Big South champ UNC Asheville hosts the Camels on Jan. 21 before returning to Gore Arena on Feb. 18. The Bulldogs won three-straight games in Buies Creek last March to claim the league title and automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
Campbell concludes the first half of the Big South schedule at Radford on Jan. 26 and hosts the Highlanders in the regular season finale Feb. 25.
Big South Championship returns to host sites
The season wraps up with the Big South Championship that will reward the regular season champ with the advantage of hosting the tournament quarters, semis and final. The Big South Championship first round commences Tues., Feb. 28 with the seventh seed hosting the 10th seed and the eighth-seeded team entertaining the number-nine finisher in the standings.
Quarterfinals (Mar. 2) and the semifinal round (Mar. 3) will be played at the top-seeded school. The Big South Championship game is set for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 5 and will be televised on ESPN at the site of the highest remaining seed in the event.
Three starters and four of the team's top seven scorers return from last year's Campbell team that finished 12-18 overall, 5-13 in the Big South. Big South freshman of the year Chris Clemons averaged 18.5 points per game in 2015-16 and was the country's seventh-leading freshman scorer.
Senior guard Kyre' Hamer returns (9.5 points, 1.2 steals) and red-shirt junior forward Shane Whitfield (7.6) both shot better than 51 percent from the floor in 2015-16.
