The 2017-18 Covenant men's basketball schedule for first-year head coach Neal Young has been finalized. The Scots will play 25 regular season games, with 10 of those taking place inside Barnes PE Center.
Covenant will get its first taste of action in an exhibition at longtime foe Lee on Saturday, Nov.
4 at 2:30 p.m., in Cleveland, Tenn. The two programs were both once members of the NAIA and the NCCAA and played each other nearly 50 times before having the rivalry halted due to the institutions moving into different divisions of the NCAA.
The Young era will tip off officially on Nov. 15 when the Scots travel to Atlanta to take on SAA foe Oglethorpe at 7 p.m. The home opener will follow six days later when the Scots welcome Birmingham Southern to Lookout Mountain on Nov. 21 at 5:30 p.m.
With the USA South moving to a 19-game conference schedule this season, league action will begin early as Covenant hosts LaGrange on Nov. 30 in the conference opener. Two days later, the Scots host league newcomer Berea on Dec. 2.
Covenant will then hit the road through Christmas Break. The Scots travel to Sewanee (Dec. 5) and Emory (Dec. 6) on consecutive days before going to Brevard on Dec. 16. Covenant will then travel to Memphis to take part in the Rhodes Holiday Classic on Dec. 18-19 and face Austin College and host Rhodes during the two days.
USA South play then heats up over the final two months of the regular season. The Scots host division foes Piedmont (Jan. 17) and Maryville (Jan. 31) in key league contests during the month of January. Covenant will also get to play Pfeiffer at home on Jan. 20. In February, Covenant hosts Greensboro (Feb. 9) and Ferrum (Feb. 10) before the regular season home finale against Brevard on Feb. 13.
The USA South Tournament will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 20 with quarterfinal round games at the site of the top two seeds in each division. The semifinals and championship rounds will be played at the highest remaining seed on Feb. 23-24. The league is split into two divisions with Covenant playing in the West along with Berea, Brevard, Huntingdon, LaGrange, Maryville and Piedmont.
NOTES:
Games against Brevard and Pfeiffer, both new USA South members, will not count towards league standings as both institutions are reclassifying from NCAA Division II to Division III.
Covenant and Brevard were both members of the NAIA and the Appalachian Athletic Conference during the 2000s. Brevard owns a 10-3 all-time record against the Scots.Austin College is the lone new opponent on the schedule.
The Roos are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and went 6-19 a year ago.