Winthrop men’s basketball 2015-16 schedule includes N.C. State, Alabama and Georgia

Fifteen home games highlight the 2015-16 Winthrop University men’s basketball schedule as head coach Pat Kelsey announced the season schedule Thursday afternoon. The Eagles will play a 29-game slate that includes 18 Big South Conference contests.

Kelsey and the team are excited to start the season with high hopes once again as they’ve been to the Big South Conference Championship game two straight years and will be in the conversation as a media favorite to compete for the conference title.

“With all due respect to high school football, we want to be the biggest thing going in Rock Hill,” said Kelsey, whose team plays a fast paced, up tempo style. “I dream about it, literally. It consumes me. I would ask every person in Rock Hill and student at Winthrop to give us a chance to earn your business. We'll play hard and fly around. We'll be exciting to watch. You'll want to come back."

The Eagles averaged 73.6 points per game in 2014-15 and hit 251 3-pointers, third most in a single-season at Winthrop; the team finished 44th nationally with 7.8 per game.

Winthrop will open the season on Saturday, Nov. 14 as part of “Homecoming” weekend for the university and will take on Hampton University, who advanced to the second round of the 2015 NCAA Basketball Tournament. The remainder of the Eagles non-conference home schedule includes Truett-McConnell, Jacksonville State, Alabama State, Rio Grande and Ferrum.

The Hampton game is only the beginning of a strong non-conference schedule as the Eagles will face two other teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season with road games at North Carolina State (Nov. 27) and Georgia (Dec. 8). Both won more than 20 games in 2014-15. The Eagles will also face USC Upstate on the road Nov. 24, which turned in a 24-12 record last season and advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

“We have four home games before Christmas break including a homecoming game against a team (Hampton) that not only went to last year’s NCAA tournament but won a game,” said Kelsey. “They gave Kentucky fits for most of the first half and have almost their entire team returning. We will have our hands full and need a sixth man. We also play a revenge game against Jacksonville State who beat us on a contested three at the buzzer. Obviously going to N.C. State, Alabama and Georgia will be high profile games.”

The Eagles will jump into league play on Dec. 2 at Charleston Southern, part of a challenging stretch with six games out of seven on the road. Then they will return home on Dec. 5 to take on Presbyterian College before three straight games on the road at Georgia (Dec. 8), Alabama (Dec. 16) and Georgia Southern (Dec. 19).

Winthrop plays Coastal Carolina (Feb. 18) and UNC Asheville (Feb. 20) at home down the stretch. After playing rival Coastal Carolina just once last season, the Eagles play home and away with the defending Big South champs this season.

All home games (excluding non-Division I opponents) and conference road games will be broadcast on the Big South Conference Network. The service is free to viewers. The Big South Conference Basketball Championship will take place March 3-6 in Conway, S.C.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Winthrop men’s basketball 2015-16 schedule includes N.C. State, Alabama and Georgia."