UNCW Men’s basketball schedule features major road tests
After Bahamas tournament, Seahawks will play at UNC, UConn, and Oklahoma
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) – UNCW released the basketball schedule for the men’s team on Tuesday.
A season-opening matchup with NCAA finalist North Carolina, an appearance in the Baha Mar Nassau Championship and clashes against the Colonial Athletic Association’s four newcomers highlight the 2022-23 men’s basketball schedule for 2022 Roman College Basketball Invitational champion UNCW.
The Seahawks went 27-9 last season, shared the CAA’s regular season title and captured the CBI crown in dramatic fashion. Third-year Head Coach Takayo Siddle welcomes back a solid nucleus of returnees and seven talented newcomers for the new season.
One of the most challenging schedules in recent years, the slate also features the return of regional rival East Carolina to Trask Coliseum on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
“We’re very excited about the new schedule and believe it will present a lot of different challenges for our players,” said Siddle, the 2022 CAA Coach of the Year. “It starts out very strong when we play the national runner-up on the road and then visit two more excellent teams in Oklahoma and UConn. On top of that, the Thanksgiving tourney will feature several formidable opponents. It shapes up to be a great home schedule as well for our fans.
“We assembled this schedule to really challenge our guys and prepare them for CAA play.”
Overall, the Seahawks will navigate 31 games – 14 at home, 14 on the road and three in The Bahamas. There are three new opponents (Carver, Oklahoma, Stony Brook) on the slate, with the possibility of playing others, depending on the outcome of the Baha Mar tourney.
The non-conference schedule features home dates against Emory & Henry (exhibition), Carver, Mount Olive, East Carolina, Jacksonville and High Point. Non-conference road opponents include North Carolina, Oklahoma, UConn, Coastal Carolina and Campbell.
The Seahawks make their first public appearance on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, with a home exhibition game vs. NCAA Division II Emory & Henry.
UNCW kicks off the regular season with a bang by traveling up Interstate 40 to the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill to face national power North Carolina on Monday, Nov. 7. The Tar Heels, who return four starters off last year’s 29-10 squad, are expected to be ranked atop many preseason polls this coming year.
The Seahawks play their official home opener on Friday, Nov. 11, when Carver, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, visits Trask Coliseum. UNCW went 14-2 on its raucous venue last season and will battle the Atlanta-based Cougars for the first time.
UNCW faces another first-time opponent, Oklahoma, on Nov. 15 in Norman before shooting back across the country to challenge Big East Conference member UConn on Nov. 18 before returning to the North Carolina coast for a Nov. 21 home contest vs. Mount Olive.
The Seahawks next travel to the Caribbean for the three-day Baha Mar Thanksgiving holiday event, taking on Missouri Valley Conference member Missouri State in the tourney opener on Friday, Nov. 25. The eight-team tournament at the Baha Mar Convention Center also features Long Beach State, Vermont, San Jose State, Oakland, Ball State and North Texas.
UNCW wraps up its November ledger on Wednesday, Nov. 30, by visiting regional rival Coastal Carolina. It will be UNCW’s first visit to Conway since Dec. 19, 2007, and the team’s debut at the HTC Student Recreation and Convocation Center. The Seahawks topped the Chanticleers, 65-53, last November in Wilmington.
The Seahawks open three straight home games in December when they renew their fierce rivalry with the Pirates. The two teams last met on Dec. 7, 2020, when ECU prevailed, 88-78, in an overtime thriller at Minges Coliseum. The two schools have squared off 67 times dating back to the 1963-64 season, with the Seahawks leading the all-time series, 37-30.
Siddle’s club concludes the home stand with Jacksonville and High Point before tying a bow on the non-conference portion of the slate on Dec. 21 at Campbell. The Seahawks and Camels, who will join the CAA in 2023-24, will play for the 108th time – the longest series on record for UNCW.
UNCW takes on CAA newcomer Monmouth in its first conference game on Wednesday, Dec. 28, in West Long Branch, N.J., and return home three days later to entertain another new member, Hampton, in their CAA home debut.
This season marks the first time since 2012-13 that the league has not played a full double round-robin schedule. Siddle’s club will play an 18-game conference schedule against all 12 league foes that features six repeat opponents, three home-only opponents and three away-only opponents.
Conference games primarily follow the traditional Thursday/Saturday schedule, with the exception of a three-game week leading up to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in early January.
The Seahawks will meet Charleston, Elon, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook and William and Mary twice. In home games, UNCW will face Charleston, Elon, Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook, Northeastern, Towson and William Mary only. Road tilts are scheduled against Charleston, Elon, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook and William and Mary.
The league’s 13 teams convene at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC, on Mar. 3-7, 2023, for the 2023 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
2022-23 Schedule Breakdown
Total Games | 31
Home | 14
Away | 14
Neutral | 3
Exhibitions | 1
November | 9
December | 6
January | 8
February | 8
N.C. Opponents | 9
First-Time Opponents | 3
In-Season Tournaments | 1