RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College men's basketball schedule for the 2014-15 season is out. The defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions will begin the season on Saturday, November 15 at Florida State as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff.
"This year's schedule is the most challenging schedule we have had here at Manhattan and one of the most difficult schedules for any mid-major program in the country," head coach Steve Masiello said. "We are very excited about the opportunity to compete against these high-quality basketball programs. This schedule will prepare us for conference play and have our program ready to take the next step."
After the game at Florida State, next up for the Jaspers is a game at UMass on Tuesday, November 18, also part of the Hall of Fame Tipoff. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. as part of ESPN's 24-Hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. Manhattan will conclude the Hall of Fame Tipoff event with two games at Mohegan Sun Arena on November 22 and 23.
Following a game at George Mason on November 29, the Jaspers open MAAC play at Fairfield on Friday, December 5. Two days later, Manhattan begins its home schedule against Marist on Sunday, December 7.
On Sunday, December 14, the Jaspers will return to Madison Square Garden for the first time in six seasons. Manhattan will play Rutgers at 11 a.m. as the first game of a doubleheader at The Garden.
The high-profile schedule continues three days later, when the Jaspers travel to Pittsburgh, a perennial top 25 team, on Wednesday, December 17. Following a home game vs. Morgan State on Saturday, December 20, the Battle of the Bronx moves to Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Manhattan and Fordham will tangle there on Monday, December 22 at 6 p.m.
Starting in the new year, the Jaspers will play only MAAC games, beginning with the annual trip to western New York to face Niagara (Jan. 2) and Canisius (Jan. 4). The Jaspers return home on Wednesday, January 7 to face Saint Peter's, beginning a stretch of five home games at Draddy Gymnasium during the month of January.
Manhattan hosts Iona on Friday, February 13 in a rematch of the 2014 MAAC title game. The Jaspers travel to New Rochelle on Friday, February 27 before finishing the regular season at home on Sunday, March 1 against Quinnipiac.
All game times and television appearances will be announced in the upcoming days and weeks.
Last season, the Jaspers went 25-8 and won the MAAC championship for the first time in ten years. The Jaspers won 25 games for the fourth time in program history and were one win shy of the program's record for wins in a season. Manhattan returns seven players who averaged 11 minutes per game, in addition to five highly regarded newcomers.
