After an off-season full of change, including the hiring of Casey Alexander as the new head coach, the upcoming 2013-14 Lipscomb men’s basketball team officially has its first schedule of the Alexander era, with tilts against conference foes and local competition filling out the slate.
Following an exhibition match against Freed-Hardeman on Halloween night, Lipscomb opens the season against arch-rival Belmont in the first Battle of the Boulevard at Allen Arena on Nov. 8. The second round will take place down the street on Nov. 20 at Belmont’s Curb Event Center.
The Bisons will take the court against two other Nashville squads in November as well. The Nov. 15 game against Vanderbilt will be the first between the opponents since 2009, and the Nov. 18 matchup with Tennessee State will be the first meeting of the Bisons and Tigers in over a decade.
Lipscomb’s first out-of state trip will lead to the program’s first game against perennial heavyweight Georgetown in Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving weekend.
“That will be an exciting time for our guys to go to the nation’s capital and play a premier program,” Alexander told Lipscomb Athletics. “It will be a dream come true for J.J. Butler to go back home and play in front of his family. There are a lot of really exciting parts to that game to look forward to. Hopefully some Bison fans will be able to travel with us.”
December holds key non-conference road tilts for the Bisons against Murray State on Dec. 7 and the University of Georgia on Dec. 14.
Lipscomb opens up conference play at Stetson on Dec. 30 followed by a matchup with 2013’s NCAA Tournament darling Florida Gulf Coast University on New Year’s Day. The Bisons will host FGCU on Feb. 27.
“I think we’ve got good balance and a competitive schedule,” Alexander said. “I think we’ve got a lot of challenges and have our work cut out for us for sure but it’s never going to be any different than that. But we’re excited about the teams on the schedule.”
Here’s the full schedule, courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.
| October 2013 | OPPONENT/EVENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 31 | Freed Hardeman (EXH) | Allen Arena | 7:15 p.m. |
| November 2013 | OPPONENT/EVENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
| Fri, Nov 8 | Belmont | Allen Arena | 6:00 p.m. |
| Mon, Nov 11 | Oakland City | Allen Arena | 6:00 p.m. |
| Fri, Nov 15 | at Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Mon, Nov 18 | at Tennessee State | Nashville, Tenn. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Wed, Nov 20 | at Belmont | Nashville, Tenn. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Mon, Nov 25 | at UT-Martin | Martin, Tenn. | TBA |
| Sat, Nov 30 | at Georgetown | Washington, D.C. | TBA |
| December 2013 | OPPONENT/EVENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
| Wed, Dec 4 | Tennessee Tech | Allen Arena | 8:15 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 7 | at Murray State | Murray, Ky. | TBA |
| Sat, Dec 14 | at Georgia | Athens, Ga. | TBA |
| Thu, Dec 19 | at Austin Peay | Clarksville, Tenn. | TBA |
| Mon, Dec 30 | at Stetson * | DeLand, Fla. | TBA |
| January 2014 | OPPONENT/EVENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
| Wed, Jan 1 | at Florida Gulf Coast * | Ft. Myers, Fla. | TBA |
| Sat, Jan 4 | North Florida * | Allen Arena | 4:00 p.m. |
| Mon, Jan 6 | Jacksonville * | Allen Arena | 6:00 p.m. |
| Thu, Jan 9 | at ETSU * | Johnson City, Tenn. | TBA |
| Sat, Jan 11 | at USC Upstate * | Spartanburg, S.C. | TBA |
| Thu, Jan 16 | Kennesaw State * | Allen Arena | 6:00 p.m. |
| Sat, Jan 18 | Mercer * | Allen Arena | 4:00 p.m. |
| Fri, Jan 24 | at Northern Kentucky * | Highland Heights, Ky. | TBA |
| Thu, Jan 30 | at Jacksonville * | Jacksonville, Fla. | TBA |
| February 2014 | OPPONENT/EVENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
| Sat, Feb 1 | at North Florida * | Jacksonville, Fla. | TBA |
| Thu, Feb 6 | USC Upstate * | Allen Arena | 6:00 p.m. |
| Sat, Feb 8 | ETSU * | Nashville, Tenn. | 4:00 p.m. |
| Thu, Feb 13 | Mercer * | TBA | |
| Sat, Feb 15 | at Kennesaw State * | Kennesaw, Ga. | TBA |
| Fri, Feb 21 | Northern Kentucky * | Allen Arena | TBA |
| Thu, Feb 27 | Florida Gulf Coast * | Allen Arena | 6:00 p.m. |
| March 2014 | OPPONENT/EVENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
| Sat, Mar 1 | Stetson * | Allen Arena | 11:00 a.m. |
| Tue, Mar 4 | Atlantic Sun Tournament |