Riverdale, N.Y. (August 1, 2007)- Second-year Manhattan College men's basketball head coach Barry Rohrssen announced today the Jaspers' 2007-08 non-conference men's basketball schedule. Included in the non-conference slate are games with NIT participant and local rival Hofstra University, a game at Big East member Rutgers University, the traditional Battle of the Bronx game with Fordham University that will mark the 100th meeting between the two programs, and the Jaspers' fifth appearance in the ESPN BracketBuster Event.
For the second consecutive year, five of Manhattan's 11 non-conference games will be played at Draddy Gym, where the Jaspers have posted winning home records in each of the last eight seasons. All told, Manhattan will take on schools from eight different conferences; the Northeast Conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, the Ivy League, the America East Conference, the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Big East Conference, and the West Coast Conference.
Prior to opening the 2007-08 regular season, Manhattan will play a Green/White scrimmage on Wednesday, October 31, before hosting CCNY (November 3) and Concordia College (November 7) in exhibition games.
Unlike last season, when the Jaspers opened the regular season with five straight home games, the 2007-08 season kicks off with three consecutive road games, as the team take on NJIT (November 10), Wagner College (November 14), and Hofstra (November 17) in the first week of the season.
Beginning November 21 with a game against Eastern Michigan University, Manhattan plays three games in a row at Draddy Gym. A game against St. Francis-N.Y. College (November 24) precedes the 100th Battle of the Bronx Game, pitting the Jaspers against Bronx rival Fordham on Wednesday, November 28. The game will feature several moments as the two schools celebrate this historic rivalry.
The month of December will see the Jaspers play three of four non-conference games on the road, traveling to Boston University (December 1), Princeton University (December 16), and Rutgers (December 29), with a home game against Pepperdine University (December 21) preceding the Christmas Holiday.
Manhattan will play its final regular season no-conference game on February 21, when the team will participate in the ESPN BracketBuster event. The Jaspers will be a designated home team for the event, with their opponent to be determined at the end of January.
Manhattan posted a 13-17 overall record in 2006-07, 10-8 in MAAC, and returns over 60% its points, minutes, and rebounds. The 10 MAAC wins is the second most all-time by a Manhattan coach in his first season.
