LAKELAND- Southeastern University's 2013-2014 men's basketball schedule is a "who's-who" of college basketball. It includes top NAIA programs, an NCAA Division II squad, and three NCAA Division I squads.
The slate for the Fire was announced today by Athletic Director Drew Watson and men's basketball coach R-Jay Barsh.
The 32-game journey will begin on October 30th with a trip to Atlantic Coast Conference member Florida State for an exhibition contest against the Seminoles. The Garnet and Gold are coming off of an 18-16 campaign and were 10-8 at home last year.
"It is an honor to play against a program with the history that Florida State has," said Barsh. "I have looked up to Coach (Leonard) Hamilton since I began coaching. Playing an ACC school in that environment will aid our development as a team."
The Fire will host the first of their 15 home games on November 6th when Trinity College comes to Lakeland, followed by a visit from Pensacola Christian College on November 9th.
On November 12th, the Fire will head west to take on NCAA Division II University of Tampa. The Spartans were 17-14 last season.
Following a game at Trinity Baptist College (November 19th) and hosting NCAA Division III Franklin College (November 25th), the Fire will head to Ashland, Ore. for two games against NAIA perennial powers Oregon Tech (November 29) and Southern Oregon (November 30). Southern Oregon was ranked 10th in last year's NAIA postseason poll. Oregon Tech was the 2012 NAIA National Champion and also brought home red banners in 2004 and 2008.
"Going back to the west coast will be a great experience," said Barsh, a former native of the Pacific Northwest. "When I made the schedule I wanted to play a few Top 10 NAIA Division II teams. OIT and Southern Oregon are two teams with championship pedigree. Without a doubt, these two games will be the measuring stick for where we are as a team early in the season."
The Fire will play at home just once in December- on the third, they host Florida National University before embarking on a six-game road trip. Highlights include opening Sun Conference play at Thomas University, an exhibition in Orlando against the University of Central Florida and a game in Lynchburg, Va. against Liberty University. Central Florida and Liberty are both are NCAA Division I members.
"It will be a program building experience to play a team that will most assuredly be a NCAA tourney team this year," said Barsh of their game against UCF. "Taking the team to play Liberty University, fresh off their NCAA Tournament run will be a tough road test for our team. This game will be a primer to prepare us for our tough conference schedule. It will also be a good trip to collaborate with the staff and program at Liberty University as we both play and represent Jesus Christ on the basketball court."
Sun Conference play resumes on January 4th with a home game against Warner. The Fire will host seven of their eight January contests, all of which are conference games. "Our conference is considered the premier NAIA conference in America; one of the few conferences to have at least three teams and in a few polls, four teams ranked in the Top 25," said Barsh. "With Coaches like Rollie Massimino (Northwood), Steve Ridder (Embry-Riddle) and Sean Hanrahan (Warner), our conference has some of the best coaches in the country."
February features just three home games against Florida Memorial (February 6), Embry-Riddle (February 8), and Thomas (February 15). The Fire close out the regular season against defending Sun Conference champion Northwood in West Palm Beach on February 22.
Five teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA postseason top 25 are on the dais for this season: Northwood (6th), Southern Oregon (10th), Embry-Riddle (17th), St. Thomas (20th), and Ave Maria (RV).
The Fire were 15-17 last season in their first season under Barsh and return 120 of a possible 160 total starts from last season.
For the complete schedule, go to http://seufire.com/schedule.asp39sportID=3
