Tis’ the Season: Men’s basketball announces 2015-16 schedule

The Georgetown men’s basketball team released their full schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 season on Tuesday afternoon. With 18 games against Big East opponents and a difficult 13-game non-conference slate, the Hoyas advance into this season looking to improve upon their Round of 32 ouster from the NCAA Tournament last season.

The Blue and Gray will open their season with one of the nation’s more difficult non-conference schedules. After their season opener at home against Radford on Nov. 14, the Hoyas will make the short trip to College Park to face local rival Maryland on Nov. 17 as part of the inaugural Gavitt Cup, which features a bevy of matchups between members of the Big East and Big Ten Conferences.

Three days later, on Nov. 20, the Hoyas will take part in the 2K Classic at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, where they will play last season’s national runner-up Wisconsin in the semifinals. Pending the outcome against the Badgers, the Hoyas will then face either defending national champion Duke or perennial contender VCU in the tournament finals or consolation game on Nov. 22.

After that tumultuous five-day stretch of games, the Hoyas commence a seven-game homestand at Verizon Center from Nov. 28 till Dec. 19, highlighted by a date on Dec. 5 with long-time rival Syracuse. It will be the first matchup between the two schools since the Orange departed for the ACC in 2013.

Games against the likes of Brown, UNC Wilmington, and Monmouth round out the extended homestand. A matchup against Charlotte at the Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, on Dec. 22 will be the final tuneup for the Hoyas before the start of Big East play.

The Blue and Gray’s Big East schedule, which begins with a matchup at DePaul on Dec. 30, is much more favorable than in years past, especially to local fans. Six of the team’s nine Big East home games will be played on a Saturday, with reigning Big East regular season champion Villanova visiting Verizon Center on Jan. 16, Providence on Jan. 30, Xavier on Feb. 20, and Butler on Feb. 27, the team’s final home game.

Intermingled within the team’s conference schedule is a rare mid-season non-league matchup against former Big East foe Connecticut. The Hoyas will face the Huskies at the XL Center in Hartford, Ct. on Jan. 23. As one of the many casualties of conference realignment, it will be the first time that the Hoyas face the Huskies since 2013, as the Huskies are now a member of the American Athletic Conference.

In addition to their trips to Maryland, Connecticut, Charlotte, and New York for the 2K Classic, notable Big East road games include a Jan. 13 date at St. John’s, a Feb. 13 at Providence, and difficult two-game stretch to close the season against Marquette on Mar. 1 and Villanova on Mar. 5. The Big East Tournament, held at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the 34th consecutive year, will take place from Mar. 9-12.

All in all, the Hoyas will have 22 of their games televised on either FOX, FS1, or FS2, three nationally televised appearances on CBS, two games on the CBS Sports Network, and three games on ESPN or ESPN2.

The team’s full schedule is listed below.

# denotes Gavitt Cup

$ denotes 2K Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden

* denotes Big East game