Courtesy of LoyolaGreyhounds.com
BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland men’s basketball will open the 2014-2015 regular-season Nov. 14 with an event that will be special for the family of Head Coach G.G. Smith and the Greyhounds’ program.
Loyola will play their first of 11 non-conference games in Lubbock, Texas, where Smith will face his father and mentor, Tubby Smith, and Texas Tech University. The elder Smith, who directed the University of Kentucky to the 1998 NCAA Championship, is in his third season as boss of the Red Raiders and will host the Greyhounds in Lubbock.
“The opening game is certainly going to be one that I will remember for the rest of my life,” G.G. Smith said. “My dad has been my biggest mentor as a person and coach, and it will be special to play against his team.
“After a great foreign tour to Montreal last month, we are more excited than ever to get our 2014-2015 season started. We looked to put together a non-conference schedule that would best prepare us for the Patriot League, and we think we have accomplished that. We are going to face a lot of tough challenges early that will get us ready for conference play.”
The 2014-2015 schedule is subject to change; times and television information will be announced at a later date. Check LoyolaGreyhounds.com for the most up-to-date information on contests throughout the year.
Prior to opening its Patriot League slate on New Year’s Eve against the U.S. Naval Academy, the Greyhounds will face 11 non-conference foes including the Red Raiders, a team that reached two of the last five NCAA Championship Games (Butler University) and one with an NCAA Championship banner hanging overhead (Syracuse University).
Two days after opening the year at Texas Tech, the Greyhounds will host their first regular-season home game on Sunday, Nov. 16, against Cornell. Loyola then hosts crosstown rival UMBC on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
A pair of road games land on the schedule prior to Thanksgiving. Loyola will travel to Indianapolis to face Butler Saturday, Nov. 22, in the famed Hinkle Fieldhouse, setting for the final scenes of the movie “Hoosiers.”
The Greyhounds then make a trek to Central New York where they will face Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
A prominent figure in the history of Loyola basketball will make his return to Reitz Arena on Saturday, Nov. 29, when the Greyhounds host former head coach Jimmy Patsos and Siena College in the first meeting between the teams since Patsos took over the Saints’ program last year.
Loyola visits New York City on Tuesday, Dec. 2, for a game at Columbia University, prior to returning to Reitz Arena for the 170th installment of the most-played game in State of Maryland history when Mount St. Mary’s comes to the Evergreen campus.
The game against The Mount will be Loyola’s last home game before the calendar flips to 2015 as it makes road trips to Philadelphia (Saint Joseph’s University) Tuesday, Dec. 9, Long Island (Stony Brook University) Sunday, Dec. 21, and a former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe (Fairfield University) Sunday, Dec. 28.
Patriot League action commences on New Year’s Eve when the Greyhounds make the short trip to Annapolis, Maryland, to face Navy. The conference’s other service academy member makes its visit to Reitz Arena to kick off 2015. Loyola will host the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday, Jan. 3.
Defending Patriot League Champion American University will make an appearance at Loyola on Wednesday, Jan. 7, before the Greyhounds play back-to-back games in the Lehigh Valley on Saturday, Jan. 10 (Lehigh University), and Wednesday, Jan. 14 (Lafayette College).
The Greyhounds have a brief two-game homestand with contests against Boston University Sunday, Jan. 18, and Bucknell University, Wednesday, Jan. 21, before heading to Hamilton, N.Y., for a Saturday, Jan. 24, game at Colgate University.
College of the Holy Cross is next up for Loyola in a Wednesday, Jan. 28, home contest, and the Greyhounds start the second half of their Patriot League slate on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Army.
Loyola travels to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 4, for a game at American, and hosts Lehigh and Lafayette on Saturday, Feb. 7, andWednesday, Feb. 11, respectively.
A two-game swing takes the team to Boston University on Saturday, Feb. 14, and Bucknell Wednesday, Feb. 18, before Colgate plays the penultimate game in Reitz Arena this season on Sunday, Feb. 22.
The final regular-season road trip of the year has Loyola visiting Holy Cross Wednesday, Feb. 25, and Navy is the final game of the schedule at homeSaturday, Feb. 28.
The Patriot League Championships start with an opening round on Tuesday, March 3, with the seven through 10 seeds playing on the higher seeded teams’ campuses. Winners of those games, and the top-six seeds will be in action in the Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 5, with Semifinal action taking place on Sunday, March 7. The title contest will be played, on the highest remaining seed’s campus, Wednesday, March 11, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
| 2014-2015 Loyola Greyhounds Men’s Basketball Schedule | |||||
| Day | Date | Opponent | H/A/N | Location | |
| Thurs. | Nov. 6 | Bridgewater (Va.) – exhibition | H | Reitz Arena | |
| Fri. | Nov. 14 | Texas Tech | A | Lubbock, Texas | |
| Sun. | Nov. 16 | Cornell | H | Reitz Arena | |
| Wed. | Nov. 19 | UMBC | H | Reitz Arena | |
| Sat. | Nov. 22 | Butler | A | Indianapolis, Ind. | |
| Tues. | Nov. 25 | Syracuse | A | Syracuse, N.Y. | |
| Sat. | Nov. 29 | Siena | H | Reitz Arena | |
| Tues. | Dec. 2 | Columbia | A | New York, N.Y. | |
| Sat. | Dec. 6 | Mount St. Mary’s | H | Reitz Arena | |
| Tues. | Dec. 9 | Saint Joseph’s | A | Philadelphia, Pa. | |
| Sun. | Dec. 21 | Stony Brook | A | Stony Brook, N.Y. | |
| Sun. | Dec. 28 | Fairfield | A | Fairfield, Conn. | |
| Wed. | Dec. 31 | * | Navy | A | Annapolis, Md. |
| Sat. | Jan. 3 | * | Army | H | Reitz Arena |
| Wed. | Jan. 7 | * | American | H | Reitz Arena |
| Sat. | Jan. 10 | * | Lehigh | A | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Wed. | Jan. 14 | * | Lafayette | A | Easton, Pa. |
| Sun. | Jan. 18 | * | Boston University | H | Reitz Arena |
| Wed. | Jan. 21 | * | Bucknell | H | Reitz Arena |
| Sat. | Jan. 24 | * | Colgate | A | Hamilton, N.Y. |
| Wed. | Jan. 28 | * | Holy Cross | H | Reitz Arena |
| Sat. | Jan. 31 | * | Army | A | West Point, N.Y. |
| Wed. | Feb. 4 | * | American | A | Washington, D.C. |
| Sat. | Feb. 7 | * | Lehigh | H | Reitz Arena |
| Wed. | Feb. 11 | * | Lafayette | H | Reitz Arena |
| Sat. | Feb. 14 | * | Boston University | A | Boston, Mass. |
| Wed. | Feb. 18 | * | Bucknell | A | Lewisburg, Pa. |
| Sun. | Feb. 22 | * | Colgate | H | Reitz Arena |
| Wed. | Feb. 25 | * | Holy Cross | A | Worcester, Mass. |
| Sat. | Feb. 28 | * | Navy | H | Reitz Arena |
| Tues. | March 3 | ! | Patriot League First Round | – | Campus Sites |
| Thurs. | March 5 | ! | Patriot League Quarterfinals | – | Campus Sites |
| Sun. | March 8 | ! | Patriot League Semifinals | – | Campus Sites |
| Wed. | March 11 | ! | Patriot League Championship | – | Campus Sites |
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