Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE
The James Madison Dukes have announced their 2012-2013 Mens’ Basketball Schedule. And, they’ve got a challenging one at that.
The Dukes open up this season’s campaign in Los Angeles, CA against national powerhouse UCLA on November 15. UCLA made national headlines with their star-studded recruiting class this summer, ranked tops in the country, featuring Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson. If their two high profile freshmen are named eligible for this season, the Dukes will definitely have their hands full out west.
Following that contest, the Dukes will face Duquesne, Youngstown State and North Dakota State in Pittsburg, PA from November 19-21. All three school, Duquesne (A 10), Youngstown State (Horizon) and North Dakota State (Great West) all floated around .500 last season and should provide evenly matched early season contests for head coach Matt Brady’s squad.
Then, the Dukes will then travel to Ohio to take on Miami on November 24, who was not particularly excellent last season, before opening up a competitive 5-game home stand.
From November 28- December 16, Madison will take on George Washington (A 10), Winthrop (Big South), East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun), Richmond (A 10) and UNC Greensboro (Southern). All 5 teams should be very competitive against the Dukes and provide a slightly uncomfortable level of unfamiliarity.
The Dukes will then travel to Las Vegas, Nev to take on San Jose State (WAC) and San Diego (West Coast), on December 22 and 23 respectively, before opening up conference play. Both contests should be pretty winnable, as each team finished sub-.500 last season, and could provide the Dukes with some momentum before heading back to the east coast and battling their many CAA foes.
If the Dukes can manage to compete, they have the opportunity to earn some hard-earned non-conference wins this season, but they will definitely be challenged.
