EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T men’s basketball is headed to Jamaica. They have a huge road game against UNC Greensboro. The Aggies also face off against an ACC team and a Big 10 team, and then there is the always competitive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate to encounter.
The Aggies released their 2019-20 schedule with those components on it. N.C. A&T is hoping to take that schedule and improve upon their run to the MEAC tournament semifinals, a 19-13 record and a second-place finish during the MEAC regular-season.
“When you’re putting together a non-conference schedule you always have the conference schedule in mind,” said N.C. A&T coach Jay Joyner. “Who are the competitive teams across the country with styles that are going to get us ready for conference play? My staff did a great job of finding teams who are going to test us and get us prepared to do well in the MEAC.”
N.C. A&T opens the season at the Greensboro Coliseum on Nov. 5 against crosstown rival UNCG. The Spartans were one of the best mid-majors in the country last season earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT in 2019. The Aggies will play their opener on Nov. 8 with they welcome Charleston Southern to Corbett Sports Center at 7 p.m. The Aggies are 22-2 at home over the past two seasons.
Over the next 2 ½ weeks and five games, the Aggies will be on the road starting in Cullowhee, N.C. as they take on the Western Carolina Catamounts on Nov. 12. Three days later they head to Logan, Utah to face the Utah State Aggies. A trip to Dallas is next to face North Texas before the Aggies much-anticipated trip to Montego Bay, Nov. 22-24.
Nicholls State will face N.C. A&T to open the Jamaica Classic. The Aggies second opponent in Jamaica has not been announced yet.
November ends with the Aggies returning home to face Jacksonville on Nov. 30 before playing two straight at home as the Longwood Lancers come to Greensboro for a contest on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. The rest of 2019 will be spent on the road starting with a contest in Peoria, Ill., versus Bradley University.
The Weststar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational hosted by UTEP will serve as the Aggies second non-conference tournament. They open the tournament against UTEP on Dec. 16 before playing UC Irvine.
For the second straight season, the Aggies will face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as they travel to Winston-Salem on Dec. 21. Eight days later the Aggies will face Big 10 foe Illinois before closing out the non-conference schedule in 2020 with a game at home against Mid-Atlantic Christian.
Conference play begins 7:30 pm., Monday, Jan. 6 against Florida A&M at Corbett. N.C. A&T’s two rivalry games with N.C. Central will occur on Feb. 15 at Corbett and March 5 in Durham.
