Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE
The Northeastern Huskies have announced their 2012-2013 mens’ basketball schedule. This season, the Huskies will be facing 12 non-conference opponents before opening up Colonial Athletic Association play.
Kicking things off, the Huskies play 3 games prior to traveling to Alaska for a early season tournament. In their season opener, head coach Bill Coen’s squad will host cross-town rival, Boston University on November 9. In this home opener, the Terriers enter this season coming off a .500 record last year but down their top scorer. Next, the team will travel south to Princeton, NJ on November 13 before welcoming Vermont to Matthews Arena. Both the Tigers and Catamounts are coming off NCAA Tournament and CBI Tournament appearances respectively and should provide the Huskies with competitive contests.
Up in Alaska, the Huskies will compete in three games in the annual Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage from November 21-24. In the opening round, the team is set to play UC Riverside, who compiled a 14-17 record last season out of the Big West. Next, they will play either Belmont or Alaska Anchorage depending on which teams win or lose their opening matchup, The Huskies should be able to defeat Riverside and maybe even advance to the Tournament Championship game on November 24.
Returning home from Alaska, the Huskies will host 4 home games to varying opponents. They will take on Maine (America East), UMass (A 10), La Salle (A 10) and UNC Asheville (Big South). Maine did not have a successful season last year, whereas UMass and La Salle are both coming off NIT appearances. UNC Asheville appeared in the NCAA Tournament as a 16 seed and gave Syracuse a run for their money in the opening round. If the Huskies play hard, they might be able to win 3 out of their 4 last non-conference home games.
Next, Northeastern will venture on a 2 game road trip before opening up conference play. They will face Central Connecticut (Northeast) and UAB (C-USA). Both contests should be fairly winnable matchups as each team finished last season below .500.
When CAA Conference play begins, the Huskies should enter the second half of their season with a winning record, confidence and hopes to compete for the conference crown.
Jake Fischer is the CAA Correspondent for Rant Sports-NCAA Basketball. Make sure to follow Jake on Twitter @fischsportsline.
