A trip to Rupp Arena, Oxford, Miss., and Memphis are just a few of the highlights on the Lipscomb men’s basketball schedule for the 2012-13 season that was unveiled today.
The Bisons are set to take on a few big-name teams this season, including the defending National Champions, the Kentucky Wildcats.
Outside of conference games, the men’s team will play Kentucky, Ole Miss, Memphis, Gardner-Webb and Austin Peay at their respective stadiums.
At home, the Bisons will play Freed-Hardeman, Maryville, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin and recent NCAA tournament participants Murray State in their non-conference match-ups.
The annual Battle of the Boulevard series against Belmont will take place at Allen Arena on Friday, Nov. 9, and at Belmont on Tuesday, Dec. 4. This is the first series in which the Bruins are competing outside of the Atlantic Sun Conference, as the team moved into the Ohio Valley Conference earlier this year.
Coach Scott Sanderson, entering his 13th season as head coach of the men’s basketball team, told Lipscomb Athletics that he believes having home games against notable, non-conference opponents is very significant for the team.
“Those games are important to us,” he said. “Having a couple of marquee games at home like Belmont and Murray State, who will be the first top-25 team to ever come in here and play, is huge.”
Sanderson also believes that the lofty schedule might be one of the team’s toughest in recent years.
“This is probably one of the most challenging schedules we’ve had,” Sanderson said. “With Memphis, Kentucky and Ole Miss, who I think is going to be a really good SEC team, along with Murray State and Austin Peay, we’ve got some very good non-conference games that should prepare us for league play in January.”
Replacing Belmont in the Atlantic Sun will be Northern Kentucky, who will play the Bisons in Highland Heights, Ky., on Friday, Jan. 11, and in Nashville on Friday, Feb. 8.
Conference play begins Dec. 31 against North Florida in Jacksonville.
Last season, the Bisons went 13-18 overall (8-10 in the conference), losing to Mercer in the first round of the Atlantic Sun tournament.
For a complete look at the schedule and more comments from Coach Sanderson, visit the Lipscomb Sports website. Continue to follow Lumination this season as we cover Lipscomb basketball. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.