Men's Basketball 7/25/2024 10:00:00 AM

Men’s Basketball Announces Full 2024-25 Schedule

In conjunction with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Canisius men's basketball team announced its full, 31-game regular season schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

The Golden Griffins, who will be under the direction of first-year head coach Jim Christian, are set to play 11 non-conference games and 20 league contests, with the 121st season in program history set to tip-off Nov. 4 at Arizona. That game against the Wildcats will be the fifth in series history, and it will serve as the first time the two schools have met since Dec. 31, 1953. The Nov. 4 start date will also be the earliest in school history.

With the addition of two new schools to the conference, Merrimack and Sacred Heart, the 2024-25 MAAC schedule will be unbalanced. Each team in the league will play eight conference opponents two times (one at home, one on the road) and four other conference rivals one time, each. Per MAAC scheduling policy, each school is guaranteed to play its closest geographic opponent, but the rest of the opponents that a school plays only one time were chosen at random. For this season, Canisius will not host Fairfield or Quinnipiac, and the Griffs are not scheduled to play road games at Manhattan or Mount St. Mary's.

Canisius' 2024-25 home opener is set for Nov. 9, when the Blue and Gold plays host to long-time rival St. Bonaventure at the Koessler Athletic Center. The game between the two teams will be the 172nd installment of the rivalry series, which dates back to the 1919-20 campaign. Canisius went on the road and beat St. Bonaventure 70-67 last year, giving the Griffs victories over the Bonnies in three of the last four meetings, dating back to the 2019-20 season. After the home date with the Bonnies, Canisius' next four games will be on the road, starting Nov. 13, when the Griffs travel to play at Division I newcomer Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa. The Griffs and the Lakers have played three times previously, and this year's contest marks the first time the two schools have met on the hardwood since Dec. 1, 1984.

On the weekend of Nov. 16-17, the Blue and Gold will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take part in a multi-team exempt (MTE) event, which will be hosted by Western Michigan. The Griffs will play SIUE on Nov. 16 at 3 p.m., before squaring off with the host Western Michigan Broncos Nov. 17 at noon. Following the trip to Michigan, Canisius will head south to play at Maryland on Nov. 19. That will mark the first meeting between the Griffs and the Terps in College Park, Md., since the 1983-84 campaign.

Canisius' month of November features eight games, with the final two games on the slate set for Nov. 23 and Nov. 27. The Nov. 23 date will be a home game against Ivy League member Brown, while the Nov. 27 game will see the Blue and Gold travel to Moon Township, Pa., to play at Robert Morris.

The Griffs open MAAC play against league newcomer Merrimack on Dec. 6 to start a three-game homestand. On Dec. 8, Canisius will close out the first weekend of conference games with a home date against Siena, and then the team will play host to Maine on Dec. 14 after the conclusion of final exam week. The game against Maine at home will be the program's first meeting with the Black Bears at the Koessler Athletic Center since Dec. 31, 2007.

Canisius' final two road games of the non-conference schedule will be in the state of Illinois, as the Blue and Gold travel to play at Loyola Chicago Dec. 18, and then at Bradley Dec. 21. The game against Bradley will be Canisius' first since the two schools met in the second round of the 1995 NIT – a game Canisius won by the score of 55-53.

The 2025 calendar year starts with a road game at MAAC newcomer Sacred Heart on Jan. 5, the first of eight league games in January for the Griffs. After a home weekend with Rider (Jan. 10) and Saint Peter's (Jan. 12), Canisius travels to Iona (Jan. 16) and Fairfield (Jan. 18). January closes out with three-straight league games at home, as Sacred Heart (Jan. 23), Marist (Jan. 25) and long-time rival Niagara (Jan. 31) all visit the Griffs for conference games inside the KAC.

The month of February begins with three-straight league games on the road for the Blue and Gold, as the team plays at Quinnipiac (Feb. 6) and Merrimack (Feb. 8). The second installment of the annual Battle of the Bridge series against Niagara takes place Feb. 12, when the Griffs travel north on I-190 to the Gallagher Center for the 195th meeting in series history.

After a home game with Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 16), the Griffs open a stretch where the team plays four of its final six MAAC regular season contests on the road, beginning Feb. 21 when Canisius travels to Marist. After playing at Siena (Feb. 23), the Griffs' final two home games of the schedule will be against Manhattan (Feb. 28) and Iona (March 2). For the second consecutive season, Canisius will close out the regular-season on the road, this time with games at Rider (March 6) and at Saint Peter's (March 8).

The 2025 Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship tournament once again returns to Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. This year's tournament will be held from March 11-15, with the event's championship team earning the conference's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

Season tickets for the combined home men's and women's basketball schedule are on sale now through the Canisius Ticket Office by CLICKING HERE. Fans can also purchase their season ticket plans, which cost $250 for reserved and $150 for general admission, by calling the ticket office at (716) 888-TIXX.

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