Men’s Basketball Releases 2012-13 Schedule
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Highlighted by 15 home games at the Greensboro Coliseum, including visits from Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Wake Forest, UNCG men's basketball head coach Wes Miller announced the 2012-13 schedule Friday. This year will be Miller's first full season at the helm after earning SoCon Coach of the Year accolades as an interim coach, leading the Spartans to a Southern Conference North Division championship.
The Spartans will hold an exhibition game November 3 against Bluefield State on campus at Fleming Gymnasium as part of the UNCG Homecoming Weekend.
UNCG will open the 2012-13 regular season on the road as it travels across the Triad to face High Point November 9. The Spartans kick off the home portion of the schedule Nov. 12 when they host Winston-Salem State at the Greensboro Coliseum.
After a road game at East Carolina (Nov. 16), the Spartans will begin a four-game home stretch beginning against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia Tech Nov. 19. UNCG will continue its home play when it welcomes Big East member Rutgers (Nov. 25), before hosting in-state rival North Carolina A&T (Nov. 28).
The Spartans open Southern Conference play December 1 when they host The Citadel in a rematch of one of the wildest games in the country last season in which UNCG posted a 67-66 victory on a Trevis Simpson (Douglas, Ga./Coffee) game-winning dunk with 0.3 seconds left in the game.
UNCG steps back out of league play the remainder of December as it travels to James Madison (Dec. 16) and UNC Wilmington (Dec. 19). The Spartans return home to the Greensboro Coliseum Dec. 22 for another Triad showdown as they welcome in ACC foe Wake Forest for just the seventh meeting all-time between the schools.
UNCG wraps up the 2012 calendar year with a New Year's Eve battle against ACC power and NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 participant N.C. State in Raleigh. The two teams will be meeting for just the eighth time in program history and the first time since Dec. 31 of 2009.
"Our five-year plan for scheduling is to have a great mix of mid-major to high-major non-conference games at home and on the road to balance against an extremely competitive Southern Conference schedule," Miller said. "We accomplished that this year with Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, NC State and East Carolina among many others in non-conference play. We will continue to do that over the next five years as we look to build our program."
The Spartans open the New Year with a road trip to reigning SoCon champion and NCAA Tournament participant Davidson (Jan. 5) before stepping out of league play to host Lees-McRae (Jan. 9). UNCG then plays at Western Carolina (Jan. 12) and Appalachian State (Jan. 14).
The Spartans end the month of January with five-straight home games at the Greensboro Coliseum as they host Wofford (Jan. 16), Furman (Jan. 20), Samford (Jan. 24), Chattanooga (Jan. 26) and Elon (Jan. 31). This marks the second-straight year UNCG has played five-straight SoCon home games as the Spartans swept the stretch last year on their way to a seven-game winning streak.
"The Southern Conference schedule is always challenging and we are heading for another highly competitive year," Miller said. "Most of the teams in the SoCon return a high percentage of starters this year and will have that experience off which to build."
UNCG will also host Western Carolina (Feb. 14), Appalachian State (Feb. 17) and Georgia Southern (Feb. 28) in league play while making visits to the College of Charleston (Feb. 2), Furman (Feb. 7), Wofford (Feb. 9), Chattanooga (Feb. 21), Samford (Feb. 23) and Elon (March 2).
The 2013 Southern Conference Tournament will be held once again in Asheville, N.C., at the U.S. Cellular Center March 8-11.
The Spartans return four starters and 11 letterwinners from last season's SoCon North Division championship team. Simpson leads UNCG into the 2012-13 season as he earned All-SoCon honors after leading the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game, becoming the first Spartan all-time to lead the conference in scoring. Also returning for UNCG is senior guard Derrell Armstrong (Mechanicsville, Md./Allegany CC), who picked up Third Team All-SoCon accolades after chipping in 12.5 points per game, mostly as a reserve.
AGATE
2012-13 UNCG men's basketball schedule
Nov. 3 Bluefield State (exhibition @ Fleming Gym), 6 p.m.; Nov. 9 at High Point, 7 p.m.; Nov. 12 Winston-Salem State, 7 p.m.; Nov. 16 at East Carolina, 7 p.m.; Nov. 19 Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.; Nov. 25 Rutgers, 2 p.m.; Nov. 28 N.C. A&T, 7 p.m.; Dec. 1 The Citadel*, 7 p.m.; Dec. 16 at James Madison, 2 p.m.; Dec. 19 at UNC Wilmington, 7 p.m.; Dec. 22 Wake Forest, 2:30 p.m.; Dec. 31 at NC State, 2 p.m.; Jan. 5 at Davidson*, TBA; Jan. 9 Lees-McRae, 7 p.m.; Jan. 12 at Western Carolina*, TBA; Jan. 14 at Appalachian State*, TBA; Jan. 16 vs. Wofford*, 7 p.m.; Jan. 20 Furman*, 2 p.m.; Jan. 24 Samford*, 7 p.m.; Jan. 26 Chattanooga*, 2 p.m.; Jan. 31 Elon*, 7 p.m.; Feb. 2 at College of Charleston*, TBA; Feb. 7 at Furman*, TBA; Feb. 9 at Wofford*, TBA; Feb. 14 Western Carolina*, 7 p.m.; Feb. 17 Appalachian State*, 2 p.m.; Feb. 21 at Chattanooga*, 7 p.m.; Feb. 23 at Samford*, TBA; Feb. 28 Georgia Southern*, 7 p.m.; March 2 at Elon*, TBA; March 8-11 at SoCon Tournament, Asheville, N.C.
All times Eastern
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