May 24, 2011
SEATTLE, Wash. -- The University of Washington released its 2011-12 men's basketball schedule and it is highlighted by a trip to New York City for a pair of neutral site games at famed Madison Square Garden. Washington will play at "The World's Most Famous Arena" against Marquette on Dec. 6 as the second of two games that are part of the 2011 Jimmy V Classic. The game pits the Huskies and Golden Eagles against each other for the first time since Washington beat Marquette 80-78 in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Missouri and Villanova will battle in the first game at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time, with the UW game starting at approximately 6:00 p.m. Both games will air on ESPN. The Jimmy V Classic is an annual one-day event that honors the memory of former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993. The Huskies will remain in New York and play 2010 NCAA runner-up Duke on Dec. 10 at 9:00 a.m. PT, also at Madison Square Garden. It will be the fourth-ever meeting between the two schools - the first since 1990 - with Duke holding the 3-1 advantage all-time. "Those two in New York, those are big-time games," said Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar, who will be in his 10th season. "Those are outstanding games for our program to play two quality and tradition-rich programs like that inside Madison Square Garden." In all, Washington will play 12 non-conference games, eight at home. Washington will kick off the season with an exhibition contest against Seattle Pacific on Nov. 4 at Alaska Airlines Arena and then open the regular season with the BTI Tournament from Nov. 12-14. Portland, Florida Atlantic and Georgia State will all travel to Seattle to participate in the tournament. The Huskies then hit the road and play at Saint Louis on Nov. 20. The game will mark a homecoming for several Huskies: Lorenzo Romar was the Billikens' head coach from 1999-2002 and senior Scott Suggs hails from nearby Washington, Mo. The Dawgs will return home for a game vs. Houston Baptist on Friday, Nov. 25 (day before Apple Cup) and then head to Reno, Nev., to take on the Wolfpack of Nevada. The game vs. Nevada is the second of a three-year series that will see the Wolfpack return to play in Seattle during the 2012-13 season. Washington will play three more non-conference game at Alaska Airlines Arena - UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 16), South Dakota State (Dec. 19) and Cal State Northridge (Dec. 22) - before opening the Pac-12 slate by hosting Oregon State (Dec. 29) and Oregon (Dec. 31). The Huskies then make their first trip to Colorado and Utah, the newest members of the Pac-12 Conference. Washington will revisit their recently renewed rivalry vs. Seattle University on Tues., Jan. 10 before welcoming cross-state rival Washington State to Seattle for a Jan. 14 contest. The Bay Area schools will then invade Seattle for a pair of contests - California on Jan. 18 and Stanford on Feb. 21. Washington hits the road for games at Arizona (Jan. 26) and Arizona State (Jan. 28) before welcoming UCLA (Feb. 2) and USC (Feb. 4) to Seattle. The Huskies will end the Pac-12 schedule by playing five of their last seven games away from Seattle. First up is the Oregon (Feb. 9) and Oregon State (Feb. 11) swing before Washington wraps up its home slate by welcoming in Arizona State (Feb. 16) and Arizona (Feb. 18). Washington will then spend the final two weeks of the regular season on the road, first heading cross-state to Washington State (Feb. 25). They wrap up conference play with an L.A. road trip to USC (Mar. 1) and UCLA (Mar. 3). Washington will play California, Stanford, Utah and Colorado only once during the regular season. |
