NU is hoping it can position itself for another NCAA Selection Sunday viewing party, like in 2014 (Image courtesy of Northeastern University).
by Matthew MacCormack
Don’t get too comfortable in your seat at Matthews Arena this winter; the Northeastern men’s basketball team won’t be spending much time in their home arena.
The Huskies unveiled their 2016-17 non-conference schedule on Monday, adding 12 games to the already-released 18-game conference schedule. Prior to the start of the Colonial Athletic Association schedule, NU will play 10 road games against a dozen out-of-conference opponents.
This year's non-conference schedule looks a little something like this: #GoNU pic.twitter.com/XVjkzBl46b
— Northeastern Men’s Basketball (@GoNUmbasketball) August 29, 2016
Husky fans will be circling their calendars for matchups with perennial powers UConn and Michigan State, two of the four 2016 NCAA tournament participants on the slate. Northeastern will also battle Boston University twice in the season’s first three games, the latter matchup a part of the BU-hosted Steve Wright Classic tournament.
You can view the full schedule here.
The Huskies open against crosstown canine rival BU for the seventh consecutive season on Nov. 11. The Terriers will look to spoil Homecoming at Matthews Arena.
Next, NU plays at defending American Athletic Conference champ UConn in a battle for Husky supremacy on Nov. 14. Leading scorer Rodney Purvis returns for UConn, but three of coach Kevin Ollie’s top four point-getters graduated.
The weekend of Nov. 18 will see the Huskies participate in the inaugural Steve Wright Classic, a round-robin tournament honoring the former BU great who died of leukemia in 2003. In addition to BU, Northeastern will play LIU-Brooklyn and Maine.
After a post-Thanksgiving home bout with Kent State on Nov. 27, the Huskies have six straight road contests to conclude the non-conference slate.
The Huskies will touch down in New York (Cornell, Stony Brook), Vermont (UVM) and Michigan (Michigan State, Oakland) during that stretch. A bus ride to Cambridge for a Dec. 6 matchup with Harvard provides a short respite from the travel.
All eyes will be fixed on East Lansing on Dec. 18 for the rematch with Michigan State. Tom Izzo’s Spartans thumped the Huskies by twenty points at Matthews Arena last December, but that was before MSU lost NBA draft picks Denzel Valentine and Deyonta Davis.
NU’s conference schedule features two matchups with each of the nine CAA opponents. Northeastern faces defending champion UNCW twice in nine days in February.
The Seahawks knocked NU out of the conference tournament last March.