STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s non-conference schedule will feature a trip to Texas for the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic at the American Bank Center.
This Thanksgiving event, now in its second year, will be Nov. 28-29. MSU will play Saint Louis in the opening round and then face TCU or Bradley.
Last year, Saint Louis went 27-7 and won the Atlantic-10 regular-season crown with a 13-3 mark. Their season ended with a loss to Louisville in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Earlier this week, MSU also announced it will play Florida State, Oregon State, and Tulane. The Bulldogs will release its entire non-conference schedule next week.
“I am excited to be a part of this tournament,” MSU coach Rick Ray said. “This challenge gives us an opportunity to prepare for SEC competition. Our first opponent, St. Louis, had an RPI of 27 last season and has been to the NCAA tournament for three-straight years. Our players look forward to playing in this demanding tournament.”
n Ole Miss men’s basketball team unveils non-conference schedule: At Oxford, the Ole Miss men’s basketball team will face as many as five NCAA tournament teams from a year ago in its 2014-15 non-league slate of games, coach Andy Kennedy announced Wednesday.
The Rebels’ non-conference slate includes games with NCAA Tournament teams Creighton, Coastal Carolina, Dayton, Oregon and a possible matchup against Cincinnati.
“We designed our non-conference schedule to prepare us for the rigors of SEC play,” said Kennedy, the winningest coach in school history with 171 wins in eight seasons. “We feel this schedule will challenge us with NCAA Tournament-level games against teams like Creighton, Cincinnati, Dayton, Middle Tennessee, Oregon and TCU, that will prepare our team for life in the SEC.”
Ole Miss will open the 2014-15 season Nov. 14 at home against Charleston Southern before hitting the road for a game at Troy Nov. 17.
It will play host to Southern (Nov. 20) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 25) as part of the inaugural 2014 Emerald Coast Classic, before traveling to Niceville, Florida, to face Creighton in the semifinals Nov. 28. A finals matchup versus Cincinnati or Middle Tennessee awaits the Rebels the next day.
Ole Miss will return home Dec. 4 to play host to TCU in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge before hitting the road again for a game Dec. 7 at Oregon. The Rebels will play host to Western Kentucky (Dec. 13) and Coastal Carolina (Dec. 17) and play a neutral-site game against against Southeast Missouri on Dec. 21 in Southaven.
Following a nine-day holiday break, Ole Miss will travel to Ohio to play Dayton on Dec. 30. The Flyers advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight a year ago. Ole Miss will wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule Jan. 3 at home against Austin Peay.
The complete SEC schedule and any television information will be released by the conference office in August.
n Memphis adds Lawson to coaching staff: At Memphis, Tennessee, the Memphis men’s basketball team has added former high school coach Keelon Lawson as an assistant coach on Josh Pastner’s staff.
Lawson is the father of 2015 recruit K.J. Lawson and 2016 prospect Dedric Lawson. The hire was announced Wednesday in a school release.
Lawson had coached Hamilton High School in Memphis since 2003. He also served as Hamilton’s athletic director from 2003-08. He led Hamilton’s 2006 team to an undefeated record and a state championship.
The 247Sports Composite, which measures rankings of all the major recruiting services, rates K.J. Lawson as the No. 43 prospect in his class and rates Dedric Lawson as the No. 7 prospect in the 2016 class.
K.J. Lawson, a 6-foot-6 forward, already has verbally committed to Memphis. Dedric Lawson, a 6-8 forward, is uncommitted.
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