GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University men's basketball coach J.T. Burton has announced the Pioneers' 2018-2019 schedule which includes an impressive exhibition slate as well as a challenging 28-game regular-season schedule. (2018-19 Schedule)
The Pioneers will take on the strongest exhibition schedule in program history as TU will face three programs that advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament including the defending champions of the American Athletic Conference (Cincinnati) and the Southeastern Conference (Tennessee).
The regular-season schedule includes eight games against teams who advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason including the champions of the three conferences which comprise the Southeast Region.
Tusculum will open exhibition play on Oct. 26 as they face the University of Arkansas. The Razorbacks are coming off a 23-12 campaign where the Hogs posted a fourth place finish in the SEC and advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament before falling in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers travel to the University of Tennessee on Halloween night (Oct. 31) to face their in-state foes. The Volunteers went 26-9 a year ago, captured a share of the SEC regular-season title and finished runner-up in the SEC Tournament. The Vols also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Twenty-four hours later Tusculum will travel to the University of Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats on Nov. 1. Cincinnati enjoyed an outstanding season as they finished with a 31-5 record, swept both the American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships before falling in the second round of the NCAA postseason.
"These exhibition games will create some positive exposure for Tusculum University as well as valuable experience for our players, especially our seniors," said Coach Burton. "We are excited about the opportunity to compete against Arkansas, Tennessee and Cincinnati as well as play in some of the best basketball venues in the country."
The Pioneers will open the regular season on Nov. 9-10 at the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge in Aiken, South Carolina. Tusculum will open against defending Peach Belt Conference co-champion Clayton State University on Nov. 9. The Lakers were 24-7 last season and finished runner-up in the PBC Tournament before completing the year as a Southeast Regional semifinalist.
TU will wrap up the weekend with a match-up against host USC Aiken on Nov. 10. The Pacers went 16-12, finished fifth in the league and advanced to the Peach Belt Tournament semifinals.
The Pioneers stay on the road on Nov. 14 with a trip to Greenwood, South Carolina to face Lander University in the first of two meetings this year. The Bearcats tied for ninth place in the Peach Belt Conference and finished with an overall record of 11-17.
Tusculum makes the short trip to Banner Elk, North Carolina on Nov. 17 to take on Lees-McRae College. The Bobcats were the surprise team of the region last season posting an impressive 23-9 record, finished runner-up in the Conference Carolina standings, captured the league tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
TU wraps up its five-game road trip to start the season with a Nov. 20 contest at Lee University. The Flames tied for fourth place in the Gulf South Conference and finished with a 16-12 record which included a pair of wins over Tusculum.
Tusculum will play its home opener on Nov. 24 in a rematch with Lander at Pioneer Arena.
"The non-conference schedule is going to be difficult. We start off with two tough games in the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge and face some very good regional programs which will prepare us for the grind of the South Atlantic Conference. The SAC is one of the toughest leagues in Division II. Every game is going to be a battle and a lot of teams have outstanding players returning this year. Everybody from our staff to our players knows that this is going to be a challenging season, but we are getting prepared for it."
The Pioneers tip off their 20th SAC season on Nov. 28 as they travel to Anderson University. The Trojans finished eighth in the SAC and posted a 10-19 overall record. TU will stay on the road to face Catawba on Dec. 1. The Catawba Indians went 11-15 and finished ninth in the league including a split of the season series with the Pioneers as each team won on the road.
Newberry College comes to Greeneville on Dec. 9 as the Wolves went 15-14 overall and tied for fifth place in the conference. TU defeated Newberry in Greeneville before falling in the rematch with the Wolves to end the season.
Queens University of Charlotte invades Pioneer Arena on Dec. 16. The Royals enjoyed one their best seasons in program history as they posted a 32-4 record while finishing runner-up in the SAC regular-season as well as the SAC Tournament. Queens rebounded and got hot in the national postseason with the Royals winning three in a row, including an impressive win at top-seed Lincoln Memorial University in the Southeast Regional final to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Royals would advance to the national semifinal before falling in double overtime to NCAA runner-up Northern State.
The Pioneers step out of conference play for a pair of games to close out the calendar year traveling to region opponents Barton College (Dec. 19) and Belmont Abbey College (Dec. 29). Barton went 17-13 last year and moved onto the Conference Carolinas Tournament semifinals. One of those wins was a 100-97 shootout at Pioneer Arena. Belmont Abbey is coming off a 12-19 worksheet but the Crusaders put together a strong postseason run and advanced to the Conference Carolinas championship game. Tusculum has won the last two meetings with the Abbey including a 69-67 win last year in Belmont when Brandon Mitchell scored on a layup with one second remaining.
Tusculum returns to league play on Jan 5 with a road trip to Hickory, North Carolina and Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Bears tied for fifth in the conference and finished with an 11-16 record including a pair of close wins over the Pioneers.
Tusculum begins its longest home-stand on Jan. 9 with three straight games in Greeneville. TU begins the stretch against cross-mountain rival Mars Hill University. The Lions went 4-24 last season to finish in 11th place in the SAC standings, which included a pair of Tusculum wins. Coker College visits Tusculum on Jan. 12 as the Cobras tied for fifth place in the league and ended the year with a 12-17 mark.
Arch-rival Carson-Newman University comes to Tusculum on Jan. 16. The Eagles swept the Pioneers last season en route to a 23-8 record and a third place finish in the conference. C-N would earn an at-large berth to the NCAA postseason.
On Jan. 19, Tusculum will be at Wingate University as the Bulldogs earned a top-four finish in the conference as WU went 15-15. The Pioneers will be at national-power Lincoln Memorial University on Jan. 23. The Railsplitters swept the SAC regular-season and tournament titles before falling in the Regional final to Queens. LMU ended the season with a 32-2 overall record.
The second half of the SAC season begins on Jan. 26 as the Pioneers have a rematch with Catawba and four days later at home against Anderson (Jan. 30).
Tusculum will be on the road for three in a row to open the month of February, traveling to Newberry (Feb. 2), Queens (Feb. 9) and Mars Hill (Feb. 13). The Pioneers host Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 16, before traveling to Carson-Newman (Feb. 20) and Coker (Feb. 23) for back-to-back road games.
Tusculum closes out the regular season with two home games against Lincoln Memorial (Feb. 27) and Wingate (Mar. 2).
The SAC Quarterfinals will be held Mar. 6 with the top-eight teams advancing and the top-four seeds serving as hosts. The winners advance to the semifinal and championship rounds held on Mar. 9 and 10, respectively at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
The NCAA II Southeast Regional (Mar. 16-19) will be held at a campus site with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight (Mar. 27-30) in Evansville, Indiana.
