2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule
San Francisco, CA — Another tough schedule awaits the Academy of Art University men's basketball team in 2014-15, highlighted by a 20-game Pacific West Conference slate and 13 total home games – all at Kezar Pavilion – during the season.
"On paper, this may be one of our deepest teams yet.," said ART U head coach
Julius Barnes. "We return one of the best guards in the conference and made some solid additio
ns with this recruiting class. I anticipate that we will get contributions from many players on any given night."
The Urban Knights will look to start the 2014-15 campaign on Nov. 14 the same way they started last season – with a win in a preseason tournament. This year the Knights return to the Sodexho Tip-Off Classic hosted by 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Seattle Pacific. There the Knights will face the host Falcons (Nov. 14) and Central Washington (Nov. 15) of the GNAC, the same two teams they played in the 2012-13 version of the tournament.
ART U then returns to San Francisco for its home opener on Nov. 19 versus California Collegiate Athletic Association member UC San Diego. The Urban Knights will stay in The City for the
rest of November, as they host Simon Fraser of the GNAC (Nov. 21) before going across town to face the CCAA's San Francisco State (Nov. 25) in the Gators' Main Gymnasium.
"I'm really excited to kick off the season," said Barnes. "We will play a pretty daunting non-conference schedule, facing opponents like Seattle Pacific, UC San Diego and San Francisco State. I have no doubt that it will help us prepare for the challenges that lie ahead in conference play."
Western Oregon of the GNAC visits Kezar Pavilion on Nov. 29 to close the month and the non-conference portion of the Urban Knights'
schedule.
Academy of Art begins their 2014-15 PacWest Conference schedule on the road at Notre Dame de Namur (Dec. 6), a team it defeated 68-56 last season at home. The Urban Knights then come right back to Kezar to face PacWest opponents Cal Baptist (Dec. 16) – a 2014 NCAA Tournament participant – and Azusa Pacific (Dec. 20).
ART U ends the 2014 calendar year in St. George, Utah, with a PacWest showdown against 2014 NCAA Tournament participant Dixie State on New Year's Eve.
2015 kicks off with a home game against Dominican (CA) on Jan. 3 before the Urban Knights ship off for their first extended PacWest road trip of the season. ART U travels to Southern California to face Cal Baptist (Jan. 10), Azusa Pacific (Jan. 12) and Point Loma Nazarene (Jan. 14).
The Knights then return for their longest homestand of the season, a five-game stretch that features all but one Hawaii school and return games against Dixie State and Point Loma Nazarene.
ART U will host 2014 PacWest Tournament champion Chaminade (Jan. 19), Hawaii Pacific (Jan. 22) and BYU-Hawaii (Jan. 24) all in the same week, then entertain Dixie State (Jan. 31) and Point Loma Nazarene (Feb. 2) the following week.
Five of the Urban Knights' last seven games will be played on the road, including a three-game trip to Hawaii to conclude the regular season. The stretch begins across The Bay at Holy Names (Feb. 7) before shifting back to Kezar Pavilion for a Feb. 11 contest versus Fresno Pacific. Both those games will be the only times ART U faces the Hawks and Sunbirds.
On Feb. 16 the men cross the Golden Gate Bridge to face Dominican (CA) in San Rafael before returning for their home finale on Feb. 20 versus Notre Dame de Namur. The three-game Hawaii trip begins Feb. 24 at Hawaii Hilo – the only time the Urban Knights will see the Vulcans in the regular season. It continues on Feb. 26 at BYU-Hawaii and concludes with the regular season finale on Feb. 28 at Chaminade.
This year's PacWest Tournament will be held at future PacWest member Concordia (CA) University's Arena in Irvine on March 5-7.
