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After inheriting a schedule top heavy in road games against forminable foes like the University of North Carolina, South Carolina State men’s basketball coach Tim Carter took matters into his own hands.
The end result is a 2008-09 schedule which features four straight games to open the season at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, a visit by coaching legend Bobby Cremins, a home-at-home series with a Western Athletic Conference foe and a renewed rivalry with the Palmetto State’s other big Division I school.
It’s a schedule Carter believes forms the perfect balance of tough games on the road and enough home games to help a rebuilding team gain confidence.
SCSU will play six of its first eight games at S-H-M, starting Nov. 14 against Erskine College. After home contest against Allen University (Nov. 18) and Carver Bible College (Nov. 21), the Bulldogs will invite Cremins and the College of Charleston into Orangeburg on Nov. 24.
Following an appearance in the Liberty University Tournament on Nov. 29, where it will open against William and Mary, the Bulldogs return home to face Winston-Salem State on Dec. 6. Four nights later, the Bulldogs will start a home-at-home series against the University of Idaho.
In between games against the Vandels in Orangeburg and Moscow, Idaho, the Bulldogs will head to the Upstate to face Clemson University. It’s the first meeting since the 2005-06 season and the Tigers own a 7-1 advantage in the series. However, the Bulldogs’ lone victory took place at Littlejohn Coliseum on Dec. 4, 1999 by a 71-68 score.
The matchup with Clemson kicks off an eight-game road trip which takes the Bulldogs to the University of Nebraska on Dec. 30 and into the new year and the start Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play at Delaware State on Jan. 10.
Fans can purchase basketball season tickets now at the SCSU Ticket Office at (803) 536-8579.
SCSU MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM’S 2008-09 SCHEDULE
Nov. 14 - ERSKINE COLLEGE
Nov. 18 - ALLEN UNIVERSITY
Nov. 21 - CARVER BIBLE COLLEGE
Nov. 24 - COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Nov. 29-30 - Liberty University Tournament
Dec. 6 - WINSTON-SALEM STATE
Dec. 10 - UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO
Dec. 13 - at Clemson
Dec. 17 - at the University of Idaho
Dec. 20 - at Savannah State
Dec. 30 - University of Nebraska
Jan. 10 - at Delaware State
Jan. 12 - at Maryland-Eastern Shore
Jan. 17 - at Hampton
Jan. 19 - at Howard
Jan. 24 - NORFOLK STATE
Jan. 26 - NORTH CAROLINA A&T
Jan. 31 - at Bethune-Cookman
Feb. 2 - at Florida A&M
Feb. 7 - COPPIN STATE
Feb. 9 - MORGAN STATE
Feb. 14 - HAMPTON
Feb. 16 - HOWARD
Feb. 21 - at Norfolk State
Feb. 23 - at North Carolina A&T
March 2 - BETHUNE-COOKMAN
March 4 - FLORIDA A&M
March 5 - at Winston-Salem State
March 9-14 - MEAC Tournament
T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.