Bearkats Announce 2015-16 Men's Basketball Slate
9/17/2015 6:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The success of the men's basketball team the past two seasons has been a double-edged sword for Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten.
The Bearkats have put together 50 victories in back-to-back 20-plus win seasons, reaching the Southland Conference tournament finals in Katy and earning NCAA post-season berths in the CollegeInsider.Com event twice. But the 24-11 season in 2013-14 and 26-9 mark last year have made it tough to find non-conference opponents who want to take on the Kats.
“It's getting harder and harder to find games,” Hooten said. “And it's almost impossible to find home games. A lot of that is due to our success, but it's been challenging and frustrating trying to finish out the schedule. We just completed it this week.”
Sam Houston opens with SMU in Dallas on Saturday November 14. After home games against Saint Thomas on Tuesday November 17 and Southern Illinois on Saturday November 21, the Bearkats travel to face California in Berkeley Monday November 23.
“Two of our first four games will be against teams that likely will be ranked in the AP top 25,” Hooten said. Texas Tech, Cal Irvine and UTEP also are marquee names on the schedule. “This is the most challenging schedule for Sam Houston in my 11 years here and certainly the toughest in my five years as head coach.”
Other non-conference games at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum include Wiley College Sunday November 29, Sul Ross Sunday December 6 and LeTourneau Monday December 14.
Two highlights of the non-conference schedule are trips to Nevada for the 15th annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational November 27 and a berth to the prestigious Sun Bowl Classic hosted by UTEP December 21 and 22.
“The tournament schedule worked out well,” Hooten said. “We will be coming back from California for the Las Vegas event. And the Sun Bowl is the oldest and one of the best holiday tournaments. Both events will be a good experience for the players and a lot of fun.”
Sam Houston will play either Stetson or Bethune Cookman in Las Vegas. The Sun Bowl Tournament includes Cal Irvine, Norfolk State and host UTEP.
Other non-conference road games include Texas Tech in Lubbock Wednesday December 2, LIU Brooklyn in New York Friday December 18 and North Texas in Denton Tuesday December 29.
Southland Conference play begins on Saturday January 2 as Sam Houston travels to play the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. The first home conference game is Saturday January 9 versus New Orleans. Unlike last season when Sam Houston had to play their final three regular season conference games on the road all in one week, the Bearkats will complete league action 2016 with four of their last five contests in Huntsville.
“It was a grind having to go on the road to Corpus Christi, Beaumont and Stephen F. Austin against three really good teams that final week,” Hooten said. “Hopefully we will be playing well down the stretch and will have the opportunity to play at home in front of some good crowds.”
Four starters who earned All-Southland Conference honors last year have earned their Sam Houston degrees and moved on. Seven lettermen return and the Bearkats have brought in a talented group of newcomers the head coach hopes will come together into another strong team.
“We are junior heavy with a lot of newcomers, but they are a very talented group,” Hooten said. “We certainly will learn a lot about ourselves during the non-conference portion of the schedule. We tried hard to get more home dates in November and December. But the challenging games on the road are going to prepare us for a tough Southland schedule. Two years ago we had a pair of junior college transfers – Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom – step up for us and we're looking for that kind of season this year.”
For information about season tickets to both Bearkat men's and women's basketball, watch on www.gobearkats.com or call the Sam Houston athletic ticket office at (936) 294-1729.
The complete Sam Houston men's basketball schedule for 2015-16:
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time (CT) | Results | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Nov 14 | SMU | Dallas | 7:00 p.m. | ||
| Tue, Nov 17 | Saint Thomas | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Nov 21 | Southern Illinois | Huntsville | 1:00 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Nov 23 | California | Berkeley, Calif. | TBA | ||
| Fri, Nov 27 | Stetson or Bethune Cookman | Las Vegas, Nevada | 1:30 p.m. | ||
| Sun, Nov 29 | Wiley College | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Wed, Dec 02 | Texas Tech | Lubbock | TBA | ||
| Sun, Dec 06 | Sul Ross | Huntsville | 2:00 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Dec 14 | LeTourneau | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Fri, Dec 18 | LIU Brooklyn | Brooklyn, New York | 6:00 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Dec 21 | UC Irvine | El Paso | 6:00 p.m. | ||
| Tue, Dec 22 | UTEP or Norfolk State | El Paso | TBA | ||
| Tue, Dec 29 | North Texas | Denton | 7:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Jan 02 | Incarnate Word * | San Antonio | 4:30 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Jan 04 | Northwestern State * | Natchitoches, La. | 7:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Jan 09 | New Orleans * | Huntsville | 4:30 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Jan 11 | Southeastern Louisiana * | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Jan 16 | McNeese State * | Lake Charles, La. | 3:00 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Jan 18 | Nicholls * | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Jan 23 | Stephen F. Austin * | Nacodoches | TBA | ||
| Mon, Jan 25 | Abilene Christian * | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Jan 30 | Houston Baptist * | Houston | 7:00 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Feb 01 | Lamar * | Beaumont | TBA | ||
| Sat, Feb 06 | A&M-Corpus Christi * | Corpus Christi | 7:00 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Feb 13 | Houston Baptist * | Huntsville | 4:30 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Feb 15 | Abilene Christian * | Abilene | 7:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Feb 20 | Central Arkansas * | Huntsville | 4:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Feb 27 | A&M-Corpus Christi * | Huntsville | 7:00 p.m. | ||
| Mon, Feb 29 | Central Arkansas * | Conway, Ark | 7:00 p.m. | ||
| Thu, Mar 03 | Lamar * | Huntsville | 6:30 p.m. | ||
| Sat, Mar 05 | Stephen F. Austin * | Huntsville | 7:00 p.m. | ||
| Wed, Mar 09 - Sat, Mar 12 |
Southland Conference Tournament | Katy | TBA |
