Wolverines headline 2002-03 mens basketball schedule
Life after David Webber will begin Nov. 10 for the men’s basketball team.
That is when the team opens its 2002-03 season with an exhibition game against Lake Superior State. The Chippewas will finish the exhibition season with Northwood on Nov. 16.
The regular season begins Nov. 22 against George Mason at home, day before the CMU football team will play Western.
“It will be a great weekend for fans of basketball and football,” said CMU Head Coach Jay Smith, who will enter his sixth season at the helm.
CMU follows with a game against Illinois State on Nov. 26. Last season, CMU lost to both teams on the road.
Senior J.R. Wallace and the rest of the Chippewas will then play at DePaul and at Michigan before hosting Drake on Dec. 8.
The Dec. 3 game at Michigan will mark a return trip to where Smith coached as an assistant for seven years.
“We are excited about playing at DePaul and at Michigan,” Smith said. “They have a good team and it will be a good test for us.”
The Chippewas then will play their toughest three games of the season, on the road at Marist, Bradley and Valparaiso during semester break.
“It is a tough stretch for us but they are all over break,” Smith said. “Our quality non-conference schedule will allow us to play teams that will help us get ready for the teams in our conference.”
The Chippewas three seniors, Wallace, Mike Manciel and Whitney Robinson, are familiar with four of the Chippewas nine non-conference opponents having played them in the past (George Mason, Illinois State last season, Drake and Spring Arbor in 00-01).
CMU closes its non-conference schedule with a Dec. 30 meeting with Spring Arbor before the conference season begins with games at Miami Jan. 4 and Western Michigan Jan 8.
“I like starting on the road because our students aren’t back from break yet and hopefully neither are our opponents,” Smith said.
The two road games lead up to a Jan. 11 meeting with Ohio, the team the Chippewas beat in the opening round of the MAC Tournament last season.
CMU then will play two games at home before playing at Eastern Michigan and at Kent State, the returning MAC regular season and tournament champions. The Golden Flashes made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Central then has a home game with Bowling Green, who is now in the West Division, on Feb. 1.
The game against the Falcons starts the Chippewas final 10 games with six of them at home.
CMU’s home-at-home series is with Akron, Feb. 8 at Akron and Feb. 25 at home.
“We are excited the schedule is out so early,” Smith said. “It will be challenging for us.”
