Monmouth's full basketball schedule is out and it's brutal
Monmouth coach King Rice is known for challenging his players with competitive non-conference schedules.
But he's pushing the limits in his 12th season, having assembled an incredibly ambitious lineup of opponents for a young team trying to reload after the departure of six seniors, including four fifth-year seniors, while the program transitions to a tougher conference.
The hope is the baptism-by-fire will make the inexperienced group stronger heading into its first season in the Colonial Athletic Association, a step up from the Hawks’ former home in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association.
“This might be our most challenging schedule yet,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. "We have a lot of young guys, so I’m excited for them. They’ve brought great energy all summer and we’re all ready to take on a very hard schedule."
“I might have scheduled too hard with going to a new league, but that’s not the first time,” Rice told the Asbury Park Press last month, before the complete non-conference schedule was unveiled Wednesday. “It’s been OK for us in the past and this one will work out, too.”
On paper, wins look like they'll be tough to come by in the opening weeks, and possibly beyond, after the Hawks won 21 games, including two against high-major foes, and reached the MAAC championship game last season.
How tough is the schedule?
The 13 non-conference opponents, including four against high-majors, had a combined record of 244-168 (59.2) last season, with five reaching the NCAA Tournament, six winning 20-plus games and 10 finishing at or above .500.
Meanwhile, Monmouth heads into the season without a true senior on the roster, with redshirt junior forward Jarvis Vaughan the most experienced player, and the only one on the roster as far back as 2019-20. The Hawks lose 85.9 percent of their scoring and 74.7 percent of their rebounding, with junior forward Myles Foster the only returnee in the top six last season in scoring and rebounding.
Monmouth recently added a pair of newcomers to the roster in seven-foot center Amaan Sandhu from India and 6-8 forward Jaret Valencia, who announced on social media last week he was committed to Monmouth. But both players are freshman, with four rookies in all on the roster.
The gauntlet opens with three straight high-major opponents in five days, beginning with a Nov. 9 showdown against Seton Hall at the Prudential Center in Newark, as former Saint Peter’s head coach Shaheen Holloway season welcomes his former MAAC rivals in his first game at the Pirates’ helm.
Two days later the Hawks are in Charlottesville, Virginia to face Virginia, last year’s ACC regular season champs, before heading to the Champaign, Illinois for a clash with Big Ten power Illinois on Nov. 14.
It only gets slightly easier when Monmouth returns to the friendly confines of OceanFirst Bank Center in West Long Branch on Nov. 17 for the home opener against Norfolk State, coming off a 24-win season. Then it’s off to face defending Patriot League champs Colgate on the road.
Other highlights include another high-major clash with Syracuse, traveling to the JMA Wireless Dome on Dec. 12, before returning home to face Charlotte, with the 49ers beating the Hawks in last season's opener.
Monmouth also has away games against former MAAC foes Rider and Manhattan, while hosting defending Ivy League champions Yale and traveling to Jadwin Gym to play Princeton.
"(Rider coach) Kevin Baggett and (Manhattan coach) Steve Masiello are some of my closest friends and friends help each other out, so I’m happy to go play them," Rice said. "It’s tough for them to get home games and we know what that’s like, so we can’t wait to play those guys this year.”
And all that comes before a CAA schedule that includes nine games against programs that finished the 2021-22 season ranked 153 or higher in the final KenPom rankings, compared to four in the MAAC last regular season.
Monmouth basketball 2022-23 schedule
Nov. 9 – at Seton Hall
Nov. 11 – at Virginia
Nov. 14 – at Illinois
Nov. 17 – vs. Norfolk State
Nov. 21 – at Colgate
Nov. 25 - vs. Cornell
Nov. 27 - at Lehigh
Nov. 30 – at Rider
Dec. 4 - at Manhattan
Dec. 10 - at Princeton
Dec. 12 – at Syracuse
Dec. 17 - vs. Charlotte
Dec. 22 - vs. Yale
Dec. 28 – vs. UNC-Wilmington*
Jan. 5 – vs. Stony Brook*
Jan. 7 – at Drexel*
Jan. 11 – at Hofstra*
Jan. 14 – at Towson*
Jan. 19 – vs. College of Charleston*
Jan. 21 – vs. Hampton*
Jan. 26 – at UNC-Wilmington*
Jan. 28 – at North Carolina A&T*
Feb. 2 – vs. Delaware*
Feb. 4 – vs. Drexel*
Feb. 8 – at Stony Brook*
Feb. 11 – vs. Hosfstra*
Feb. 13 – vs. North Carolina A&T*
Feb. 16 – at Northeastern*
Feb. 18 – vs. Elon*
Feb. 23 – at Hampton*
Feb. 25 – at William & Mary*
March 3-7 – CAA Tournament (Washington, D.C.)
* denotes Colonial Athletic Association game.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ 2022-23 full basketball schedule released
