Air Force releases 2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule
9/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 5, 2002
Complete Release and Schedule in PDF Format
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A season-opening matchup against perennial powerhouse Louisville and an ESPN "Big Monday" appearance at Clune Arena highlight the 2002-03 Air Force men's basketball schedule, released today by head coach Joe Scott.
The Falcons open the season on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Louisville, Ky., against the Cardinals and head coach Rick Pitino. It will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
"We are excited to begin the season at such a high profile place like Louisville," said Scott, who enters his third season with Air Force. "It will be a good test for our players and help us later in the season when we play our conference teams away from home."
The Falcons' first home game of the season is Tuesday, Nov. 26 against Stetson University. Following a road trip for games against Arkansas State (Nov. 29) and Tennessee Tech (Dec. 1), Air Force hosts Texas-Pan American on Thursday, Dec. 5. The Falcons defeated Arkansas State at home last season, and lost to Tennessee Tech at Clune Arena and UTPA in overtime on the road.
Road games at Georgia Southern on Dec. 8 and Oakland University (Mich.) on Dec. 22 sandwich a home game against Belmont University on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The Falcons close out their non-conference schedule with three consecutive home games against Georgia Southern on Wednesday, Jan. 1, Navy on Saturday, Jan. 4 and Savannah State on Monday, Jan. 6.
The Sierra Providence SunClassic tournament hosted by Texas-El Paso is the lone tournament appearance this season for Air Force. The Falcons will face Alabama-Birmingham of Conference USA in the first round on Friday, Dec. 27, while UTEP plays Columbia in the other first-round tilt. The consolation and championship games will be played on Saturday, Dec. 28.
Air Force opens Mountain West Conference play against MWC tournament champion San Diego State on Saturday, Jan. 11 in Clune Arena, followed by five of its next six games on the road. The Falcons return home to face Colorado State on Saturday, Feb. 15, which will be shown on ESPN Plus, and defending regular-season champ Wyoming on Monday, Feb. 17 as part of ESPN's "Big Monday" package. The nationally televised game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. Mountain Time.
Air Force plays five of its final seven MWC games at home, including the final three, March 1 against BYU, March 3 versus Utah and a March 8 tilt against New Mexico. The BYU and New Mexico games will be shown on SportsWest.
This is the third all-Division I schedule in the history of the program, all during Scott's tenure. "My philosophy with the schedule is that we are trying to win games in one of the toughest conferences in the nation," said Scott. "Also, one of our goals this season is to win more Division I games than any other team in the history of the program."
