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.

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