July 6, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford basketball team officially released its 2009-10 schedule Monday, announced Head Coach Jimmy Tillette. The Bulldogs' upcoming slate includes road games at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, as well as highly-anticipated matchups against in-state foes Alabama and UAB.
"It's always a great opportunity when we play against teams from the state," said Tillette. "Facing both Alabama and UAB this season will be huge for us and then we'll also play road games at Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Therefore, this is probably one of the most challenging non-conference schedules we've had in a long time. The Southern Conference should also be on the rise again this year and that makes for a daunting task."
Samford will open its 2009-10 slate Nov. 13-15 at the annual Hispanic College Fund Classic being held at Kent State University. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Kent State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and cross-town rival UAB during the three-day tournament.
Samford and UAB, despite being located a mere 6.3 miles from each other here in Birmingham, have not met on the hardwood since March 1, 1983, when UAB pulled out a 66-65 victory at Bartow Arena.
The Bulldogs have only played against the Blazers three times in school history and UAB owns a 3-0 advantage in all-time series. The teams first met during the 1980-81 season.
"It's going to be great to finally play against UAB again, but it's weird that it's going to be at a neutral site 1,000 miles away," Tillette said. "It's a matchup that was created out of thin air and it sort of just happened. The Hispanic Fund Classic should be a challenging tournament for us and playing against UAB for the first time in well over 25 years will be a memorable experience."
Also this season, Samford and Alabama will renew a rivalry which began during the 1918-19 campaign. The in-state foes are scheduled to square off in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 16 in what will be the teams' first meeting since Nov. 14, 2001, when the Crimson Tide earned an 83-51 win at home.
In 30 all-time meetings between the schools, Alabama holds a 27-3 advantage. Samford's most recent victory occurred Dec. 2, 1999, when the Bulldogs earned a 79-67 victory in Coleman Coliseum en route to its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Along with non-conference games against Alabama and UAB, Samford will also square off against Big 12-foes Texas A&M (Nov. 20) and Texas Tech (Nov. 28) this season.
The meetings will be the Bulldogs' second matchup against both opponents. During the 1977-78 campaign, Samford dropped a 106-91 contest to Texas A&M in a game held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. The Bulldogs later traveled to Texas Tech on Jan. 4 and were defeated by the Red Raiders, 88-58.
Samford will boast a deep, experienced roster this season. The Bulldogs return four starters and add an additional eight returning letterwinners to its 2009-10 squad, as well as the services of three highly-touted incoming freshmen.
Last year, in its inaugural season as a member of the prestigious Southern Conference, Samford advanced to the semifinal round of the league's grueling 12-team postseason tournament. With a year in the SoCon under their belts, the Bulldogs expect to have more familiarity with their conference opponents this season.
"I think it will definitely help us this year having already played a season in the league," said Tillette. "It always helps to have some experience with the different towns and venues. Travel is always debilitating, but at least we'll know what's in store for us. The familiarity with the different arenas and gyms will be helpful as well."
Samford will tip off SoCon play in early December with home games against Elon (Dec. 3) and UNC Greensboro (Dec. 5). The Bulldogs will then play consecutive non-conference games versus Spring Hill (Dec. 12), Alabama (Dec. 16), Shorter College (Dec. 19), Eastern Michigan (Dec. 22) and Chicago State (Dec. 28), before resuming conference play on the road at Davidson (Jan. 4).
Samford's final non-conference game of the regular season will be held at home against Tennessee Temple on Jan. 8. The Bulldogs will then close out their 2009-10 slate with 15-consecutive SoCon games, including highly-anticipated home matchups against College of Charleston (Jan. 14), The Citadel (Jan. 16), Western Carolina (Jan. 30) and Chattanooga (Feb. 20).
Late in the conference season, Samford will host a key three-game homestand against Wofford (Feb. 13), Chattanooga (Feb. 20) and Georgia Southern (Feb. 22).
The Bulldogs' game versus Georgia Southern will be their final home contest of the 2009-10 campaign and Samford's four seniors Peter Carroll, Bryan Friday, Jim Griffin and Trey Montgomery will be honored with a special Senior Day ceremony prior to the game.
For the second straight year, the Bulldogs will end their regular-season schedule with an arduous two-game SoCon road trip against Western Carolina (Feb. 25) and Appalachian State (Feb. 27). Last season, Samford earned a split in its longest road trip of the 2008-09 campaign by beating Appalachian State 72-63 in Boone, N.C.
The Bulldogs will begin play in the 2010 SoCon Tournament on March 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C. The opening two days of the four-day competition will be held at Bojangles' Arena, while the semifinal and championship rounds are slated to be played at the Bobcats' Time Warner Cable Arena.
2009-10 Basketball Schedule
