Crusaders Men's Basketball Announces 2018-19 Schedule
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team released its 2018-19 schedule. Despite opening the campaign with four away games in November, the Crusaders will spend 12 of their 25 matchups inside the Maher Center. This includes five in January that will be part of a 9-of-12 stretch in the friendly confines.
View Complete 2018-19 Schedule
It will be a familiar schedule for UD, as 23 contests are against teams that opposed the Navy and White a year ago. One of the two different foes is University of St. Thomas, who will be the 10th member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) next season. Another newcomer to the league this season, Johnson & Wales University, adds to an already deep conference schedule with eight opponents set to take on the Crusaders two in home and away matchups.
As stated, Dallas will be the road warriors again spending the first month of the season away from the friendly confines. Besides last year's season opener, the Crusaders have spent seven-of-eight seasons now starting on the road. It will be a familiar team that goes against UD as well. The team has opened versus Hendrix College now three of the past four seasons – all in Conway and on November 15.
UD travels on Nov. 20 to University of the Ozarks and then wraps the road stint up at Millsaps College on the 24-25. Dallas has a neutral site game with Mississippi University for Women to start the Thanksgiving Tournament. That is the other foe the Crusaders did not meet last season. The play that month ends with host Millsaps, and then the calendar flips immediately to a rematch at opposite venues on December 1.
The Crusaders for consecutive years will play Millsaps in their home opener, which they have won the last eight of. The next day, UD remains at home for another familiar early opponent in Hendrix.
On December 5, the Crusaders return on the road for their future SCAC foe University of St. Thomas. After a bit of a break, conference play starts at Centenary College on Dec. 18. The next day, Dallas is back in Irving for its first conference game of the season. Austin College will make the short trip down.
The 2018 calendar year ends with two contests in Colorado, as UD plays at Colorado College (29th) and Johnson & Wales (30th).
After playing just three home games through this juncture, the Crusaders will match that on the opening stretch of the new year starting with Trinity University on January 4. Another conference matchup follows on the 12th with Southwestern University, and then the annual non-conference game with Arlington Baptist on the 15th.
Dallas goes on the road on Jan. 18 for back-to-back dates at Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern.
The Crusaders finish off a five-game conference stretch with two at home on the 25th and 26th with Colorado College and Johnson and Wales, and at Austin College on the 29th.
February kicks off with UD's final non-conference game with another annual matchup with Southwestern Adventist University on the 2nd. A season-long, four-game home stand will also include SCAC opponents: Centenary (5th), Texas Lutheran (8th), and Schreiner University (9th).
The Crusaders will wrap up their home slate with the defending conference regular season and tournament champions. That will be the first time these teams play each other, and they will be back on the hardwood about a week later in Kerrville on Feb. 15.
The regular season ends on Feb. 16 at Trinity University.
Texas Lutheran University will be the host site for the 2018-19 SCAC Tournament on Feb. 22-24. The top six teams qualify for the league's postseason.
UD's head coach and alumni ('01) Jarred Samples returns for his 11th season, and is on the verge of tying his own coach, Brian Stanfield, for the most wins in Dallas men's basketball history with 111.
The Crusaders raced out to a 7-1 start last season, posted their highest SCAC wins total with 8, and ended up reaching the SCAC Tournament for the first time in two seasons. They finished 15-11 overall and 8-6 for a tie in second after being tabbed sixth in the preseason coaches' poll.