By: Mark Wasik
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KENNESAW, Ga. – There's no shortage of exciting games and trips for the Kennesaw State men's basketball team this upcoming season. A first-ever home game against a Big Ten opponent, the first-ever KSU team to make a trip to Canada, and the Owls' debut in Conference USA highlight the 29-game slate which was officially announced Thursday.
"Entering our second year with the program and making our first appearance in Conference USA, we feel we've put together a schedule that is full of exciting and high-quality challenges for us," said head coach Antoine Pettway. "Hosting a national program such as Rutgers is a great opportunity for both our players and the Kennesaw community as well. Looking at our Canada trip during Thanksgiving week, it will be not only a great learning opportunity for our players, but we're going to play good basketball teams led by great coaches."
Rutgers, who is appearing in several preseason top-25 lists, will be just the second-ever Power Five team to make the trip to the Convocation Center. The Owls will host the Scarlet Knights Sunday, Nov. 24. The first Power Five team to play at KSU was Georgia Tech on Nov. 15, 2010, a game won by the Owls 80-63.
The Owls will start the season with four of their first five games at home, beginning with the season opener against Toccoa Falls Nov. 5. KSU will then play its first of two games against WAC competition with a road trip to Riverside, Calif. to face Cal Baptist Nov. 9. This will be the second road trip for the Owls in three seasons to the Golden State. The contest is part of a scheduling agreement between Conference USA and the WAC with each school playing both a home and away game against a team from the other league.
Three straight games at home follow, against Bryan College (Nov. 13), Presbyterian (Nov. 16) and the second game in the WAC series, as the Owls will host Abilene Christian Nov. 20.
This year's multi-team event for the Owls will take them to the Great White North. KSU is one of four teams participating in the inaugural Western Slam, held in the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta during Thanksgiving Week. KSU will open play in the three-day event Nov. 28 against UC Irvine, followed Nov. 29 against Towson, and a Nov. 30 contest against Kent State.
It will be a light December for KSU with just four games on the slate, including three on the road, starting with a road trip down I-75 to Georgia State. This will be the second-straight year the two Atlanta Metro schools face off after a 34-year break in the series, with the Owls claiming last year's game 88-77 in Kennesaw.
Another trip to the West Coast awaits the Owls following the end of fall exams, with KSU playing at Santa Clara (Dec. 18) and at San Jose State (Dec. 21) in the first meeting against both schools in program history. Following the holiday break, a home game against Brewton-Parker Dec. 29 will close out the non-conference schedule.
"I'm also excited for continuing our series with Georgia State, while we will face new challenges will two separate trips to California. Our non-conference slate should prepare us for our first year in Conference USA, which will be a new level of play for us with new teams and arenas to play in as well," said Pettway. "The coaching staff has done an outstanding job of recruiting a great set of incoming freshmen and transfers that join our returnees to have us prepared for our debut in CUSA."
KSU's inaugural CUSA game will come at home. The Owls will face former Atlantic Sun rival Jacksonville State on Jan. 6 to open the 18-game conference schedule. This year's CUSA schedule will see every team play a full home-and-away slate against the other nine schools.
Other highlights include the first meeting with defending champion Western Kentucky Jan. 11 in Bowling Green, Ky., and two games against another former Atlantic Sun rival in Liberty (Jan. 30 in Kennesaw, March 1 in Lynchburg, Va.).
All 10 teams will advance to the 2025 CUSA Championships, which will be held at the Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., for the second-straight year. This season's tournament will run from March 11-15.
The Owls are coming off the second-best season in their Division I history after finishing the year with a 15-16 mark. Highlighting the returnees is junior guard Simeon Cottle, who averaged 15.8 points per game a year ago, along with 2023-24 ASUN All-Freshman RJ Johnson. They are joined by three spring transfers along with the top non-Power Five freshman recruiting class. The Owls' five incoming scholarship freshmen are ranked as the 34th-best overall in the nation.
Season ticket interest forms are now available. Click here for the brief form. Season tickets for the 2024-25 men's basketball season will be available in the near future, and a member of KSU Athletics will be reaching out soon to season-ticket holders for renewal information.
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