Lamar Releases 2008-09 Men's Basketball Schedule

BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar athletic officials have announced the 2008-09 men's basketball schedule that features 14 home contests and seven games against teams that participated in the postseason a year ago.

Among the notable non-conference games that appear are road games against Kentucky, Memphis, Louisville - as part of the Cardinals' three-day tournament, Rice and the start of a multi-year series with long-time rival Louisiana-Lafayette.

"It's going to be good for (the players) to play at Rupp Arena, Freedom Hall and the FedEx Forum," said Steve Roccaforte, who is entering his third year as Lamar's head coach and sixth consecutive year in Beaumont. "That will prepare us for conference play.

"(Last year) after the 1-5 start we went 19-3 and I thought the schedule really helped us. The only time a tough schedule hurts you is when you don't use it the right way. We will use this schedule to prepare us for SLC play and the conference tournament."

Some of the highlights to the home portion include a matchup with Texas Tech on Dec. 13 and eight Southland Conference games with five against SLC West Division foes as Lamar switches divisions for the next two seasons.

"I think the west will be tough but the entire league will be tough," Roccaforte said. "It's good for our fans and the team."

Lamar opens the regular-season at home against Louisiana College, Nov. 15, before traveling to ULL for a Nov. 18 meeting at the Cajun Dome. The Cardinals and Cajuns have met 78 times with an even 39-39 record. The last game came during the 1999-2000 NCAA Tournament season in Lafayette.

"I'm glad to get ULL back on the schedule," Roccaforte said. "It's a huge rivalry and it's going to be a great game for everybody."

Two of the next three will be in the Montagne Center against Denver on Nov. 22 and Lyon College on Nov. 29, with a return game against Rice Nov. 25 in the renovated Autry Court in-between the home games.

December will see Lamar face one of the toughest six-day stretches in school history with games at Kentucky on Dec. 3 before playing Ohio, Indiana State and Louisville Dec. 6-8, in a tournament hosted by UL.

The Cardinals will return home for a three-game homestand that opens with Texas Tech on the Saturday before finals. LU will play host to Huston-Tillotson and St. Gregory's Dec. 20 and 29, respectively, around the Christmas holiday.

A trip to last year's national runner-up Memphis on Jan. 3 will be the final tune-up prior to SLC play. It will be Lamar's fifth meeting with the Tigers all-time but the third in the last four seasons.

Lamar will open-up the defense of its regular-season championship at home on Jan. 10 against Southeastern Louisiana. With the switch in divisions for the Cards, they will face Sam Houston State, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State twice, while making road trips to Central Arkansas, McNeese State and Stephen F. Austin. LU will also host Nicholls State and Northwestern State at home.

The Cardinals will make a trip to Utah for the second-consecutive season on Feb. 9 when they play Utah Valley State in a return game from their initial meeting in Beaumont last season.

The conference tournament returns to the Merrill Center in Katy, March 12-15, for the second-consecutive year with the top eight teams from the regular-season qualifying for the right to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Lamar returns nine letterwinners and two starters from last season's team that went 19-11 overall and shared the SLC regular-season title with a 13-3 mark.

Schedule notes

This season marks the 25^th anniversary of the Montagne Center ... Lamar opens the season with a 13-game home court winning streak which ranks 13th in the nation ... anywhere from 3-4 teams could be ranked among the top-25 in the various preseason rankings ... TV games will be announced by the SLC office and Lamar at a later date.

Date Day Opponent Location Time

Nov. 15 Sat. Louisiana College Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Nov. 18 Tues. at Louisiana-Lafayette Lafayette, La. 7:05 p.m.

Nov. 22 Sat. Denver Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Nov. 25 Tues. at Rice Houston, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Nov. 29 Sat. Lyon College Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Dec. 3 Wed. at Kentucky Lexington, Ky. TBA

Dec. 6 Sat. vs. Ohio Louisville, Ky. TBA

Dec. 7 Sun. vs. Indiana State Louisville, Ky. TBA

Dec. 8 Mon. at Louisville Louisville, Ky. TBA

Dec. 13 Sat. Texas Tech Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Dec. 20 Sat. Huston-Tillotson Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Dec. 29 Mon. St. Gregory's Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Jan. 3 Sat. at Memphis Memphis, Tenn. 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 10 Sat. Southeastern Louisiana Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Jan. 14 Wed. at Texas-Arlington Arlington, Texas TBA

Jan. 17 Sat. at McNeese State Lake Charles, La. TBA

Jan. 21 Wed. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Jan. 24 Sat. at Texas State San Marcos, Texas TBA

Jan. 28 Wed. Sam Houston State Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Jan. 31 Sat. UTSA Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Feb. 4 Wed. at Central Arkansas Conway, Ark. TBA

Feb. 7 Sat. at Stephen F. Austin Nacogdoches, Texas TBA

Feb. 9 Mon. at Utah Valley State Orem, Utah TBA

Feb. 14 Sat. Texas State Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Feb. 18 Wed. at Sam Houston State Huntsville, Texas TBA

Feb. 21 Sat. Northwestern State Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Feb. 25 Wed. Texas-Arlington Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Feb. 28 Sat. at UTSA San Antonio, Texas

Mar. 4 Wed. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, Texas TBA

Mar. 7 Sat. Nicholls State Beaumont, Texas 7:05 p.m.

Mar. 12-15 Thu.-Sun. at SLC Tournament Katy, Texas

Mar. 19-22 Thu.-Sun. NCAA First and Second Rounds TBA

Mar. 26-29 Thu.-Sun. NCAA Regionals TBA

Apr. 4-6 Sat.-Mon. NCAA Final Four Detroit, Mich.

Schedule subject to change

Home games played at the Montagne Center on campus

Lamar Men's Basketball

2008-09 Schedule