JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team unveiled the non-conference portion of its 2021-22 schedule on Thursday, which leads the Gamecocks into their official return to ASUN Conference action in January.
Head coach
Ray Harper's squad will open the season on the road at Wichita State, Nov. 9, in a matchup with the defending American Athletic Conference regular season champions. The perennial power Shockers returned to the NCAA Tournament last year where they fell in the First Four to Drake. From there, JSU returns to Pete Mathews Coliseum for its home opener against Alabama A&M on Nov. 13. Prior to A&M, Jax State fans will have a chance to see the Gamecocks in a preseason exhibition in early November with details to be announced shortly.
Altogether, JSU has six regular-season non-conference home games in the fall including return games from South Alabama and FIU. JSU will take on rival Troy in a road contest Nov. 16, before departing for the Baha Mar Hoops tournament in Nassau, Bahamas over the Thanksgiving break. The Gamecocks open with Abilene Christian on Nov. 22, and will play the two more games as part of the tournament.
In addition to the opener at Wichita State, JSU will visit VCU, Alabama, Little Rock and Elon during non-conference play.
The challenging slate sets JSU up for its return to the ASUN, which begins Jan. 4 in a first-ever meeting with Bellarmine at The Pete.
