09/02/2011

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The BIG EAST unveiled the 2011-12 men's basketball conference schedules for all 16 member schools on Wednesday. Combined with its non-conference schedule, Seton Hall will host 16 games in its fifth season at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Pirates will open the season on November 12 vs. Saint Francis (N.Y.) before heading to Charleston, S.C. for three neutral site games of the 2011 Charleston Classic. Seton Hall will face VCU in the event's opening round on Nov. 17 and then face either Georgia Tech or Saint Joseph's on Nov. 18. The opponent for Seton Hall's third game, on Nov. 20, is to be determined based on tournament results. Additional participating schools include: LSU, Northwestern, Tulsa and Western Kentucky.

Following the Charleston Classic, Seton Hall will return home for six straight home games including: Yale on Nov. 22, Saint Peter's on Nov. 26, NJIT on Dec. 6, Wake Forest on Dec. 10 and Mercer on Dec. 18. The Pirates will also host Auburn as part of the 2011 BIG EAST/SEC Challenge on Dec. 2.

Pirates' road non-conference games include Dayton on Dec. 21 and Longwood on Dec. 23.

Seton Hall's BIG EAST schedule features a home-and-home series with defending national champion Connecticut, DePaul and Rutgers. The Pirates will open the BIG EAST slate on the road at Syracuse on Dec. 28. In addition to their opener, Seton Hall will play road games at Providence (Jan. 7), USF (Jan. 13), Villanova (Jan. 18), Marquette (Jan. 31), Connecticut (Feb. 4), Rutgers (Feb. 8), Cincinnati (Feb. 18) and DePaul (Mar. 3).

The Pirates will host West Virginia (Dec. 30), Connecticut (Jan. 3), DePaul (Jan. 10), Notre Dame (Jan. 25), Louisville (Jan. 28), Pittsburgh (Feb. 12), St. John's (Feb. 14), Georgetown (Feb. 21) and Rutgers (Senior Day - Feb. 25). All home games will be played at the Prudential Center.

The BIG EAST Championship, which again will include all 16 schools, begins on Tuesday, March 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

All game times, plus complete television and radio information, will be announced at a later date.

Ticket options are available now, including season tickets, mini plans, and group deposits. Individual game tickets will go on sale Friday, October 14 through Ticketmaster. For more informationn contact the Seton Hall Athletic Ticket Office at (973) 275-HALL (4255) or tickets@shu.edu.