Men's Basketball | July 29, 2019

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University men's basketball team will square off against five teams that advanced to the 2019 NCAA Tournament during its non-conference schedule, which was finalized recently.

The Explorers open the 2019-20 season on Saturday, Nov. 9 against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Iona at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center, as part of a Homecoming doubleheader with the women's team. Tip times for all games will be announced at a later date.

Following the contest against the Gaels, La Salle takes on last year's Big 5 champion Penn at the Palestra on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The Quakers finished '18-19 with a 19-12 record and earned their first Big 5 title since 2001-02.

Another weekend home game at Gola will feature the Explorers and Big 5 rival Temple on Saturday, Nov. 16. In the final season for La Salle grad and Big 5 Hall of Fame coach Fran Dunphy in 2018-19, the Owls went 23-10 and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

A nine-day break leads into the Gulfcoast Showcase, an eight-team event held in Estero, Fla., from Nov. 25-27. The Explorers will face another NCAA Tournament team from a season ago, Murray State, in the opening round of the tournament. The Racers, led by NBA Draft pick Ja Morant, won 28 games and pulled off an upset of Marquette in the Round of 64.

La Salle returns to the Philadelphia area for the final six games of its non-conference slate. Local trips to Villanova (Dec. 1) and Drexel (Dec. 7) lead into a four-game homestand to finish the calendar year. The contest against the Wildcats (26-10 in 2018-19) will be the fourth against an opponent who made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

Games featuring Morgan State (Dec. 14), Wagner (Dec. 18) and Fairleigh Dickinson (Dec. 22) will be held at Gola Arena, with the Knights coming off a season in which it won a Northeast Conference title and NCAA game last year.

The final tune-up for Atlantic 10 play will take place at The Palestra on Sunday, Dec. 29, as La Salle and Bucknell continue a series that dates back to 1959. The Bison won 21 games last year and have earned two NCAA and NIT bids over the last five years.

Season tickets for the second season of the Ashley Howard era are on sale now! Ticket packages start at just $175 and are available by visiting goexplorers.com/seasontickets or by calling 215-951-1999.