By: Mark Wasik
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KENNESAW, Ga. – For the first time in the Division I history of Kennesaw State men's basketball, the Owls will enter the season as the hunted. They have put together a challenging schedule that will prepare them for the task of repeating as ASUN Conference champions as their 2023-24 full schedule was officially released Thursday. Highlighted among the non-conference games is the first contest against Georgia State in over 30 years, along with road games at Power Five schools Florida State and Indiana.
"I think we've put together a great schedule for our team in our first year with the program, full of high-quality opponents led by some outstanding coaches that will be a great challenge for us," said first-year head coach Antoine Pettway. "I'm probably the most excited though about our home game with Georgia State. I'm friends with Coach (Jonas) Hayes and we know how big this game will be for both sets of fans. We can't wait to host GSU in the Convo in December."
For the first time since the 1989, Kennesaw State and Georgia State will face off in men's basketball, as the two nearby teams are slated to face off on Saturday, Dec. 2 in the Convocation Center. This is the start of a planned yearly series between the two schools, with a return trip already scheduled at GSU in the 2024-25 campaign.
First though, the Owls will start the year at home for their season-opener on Tuesday, Nov. 7 against Oakwood University. KSU will then make its first trip of the season to the Sunshine State to take on the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 10 in Tallahassee. This will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools, as KSU also played in Tallahassee on Nov. 22, 2017, a 98-79 loss, while this will be the first time the Owls have played an ACC school since a game at Wake Forest in the 2021-22 season.
After a return home to host Keiser University (Nov. 15), the Owls will be back on the road to North Carolina for the Pirate Classic at East Carolina on Nov. 19-21. KSU will open the three-day MTE on Nov. 19 with a reunion for Pettway. He and Georgia Southern new head coach Charlie Henry were assistant coaches at Alabama during the 2022-23 season. This will also mark the first meeting between the two Georgia schools since the 2017 season. KSU will then face Northeastern for the first time in program history on Nov. 20, and the host ECU Pirates on Nov. 21.
The Owls will face future CUSA opponent FIU on Nov. 26 in Miami, before returning home for a two-game homestand. First up will be the contest against Georgia State, followed by the start of two games in the month of December against Big South power UNC Asheville (Dec. 5). KSU will close out the month of December by playing four of its last five games on the road, starting with back-to-back road trips to USC Upstate (Dec. 9) and Presbyterian (Dec. 16). Following a home game against Brescia University (Dec. 19), the Owls will play a pre-Christmas contest at UNC Asheville on Dec. 23.
Almost a year to the date after a thrilling contest at Indiana, KSU will again make the trip to Bloomington and historic Assembly Hall to take on the Hoosiers on Dec. 29. That will conclude the non-conference slate, while the Owls' conference season will begin on Jan. 6 against Queens, as the ASUN schedule was previously
released earlier this summer.
"With the mix of returning starters and our eight newcomers all learning a new system, I feel this schedule will give us all kinds of tests and challenges," said Pettway. "That includes playing on the road at Indiana, which is always one of the toughest arenas in the nation, and at Florida State from the ACC. I'm also excited to test ourselves against a strong program like UNC Asheville that has made multiple trips to the NCAA tournament, along with our three-game trip up to East Carolina's MTE where we will also face Georgia Southern. Playing in those kinds of environments will no doubt get us ready for what should be a very competitive ASUN Conference this season."
For the second-straight year, 10 teams will advance to the ASUN Tournament. All tournament games will again be played on the higher seed courts once teams reach the quarterfinal round, with the first-round games starting on Mar. 4 at one of the top-two seeds.
All 13 home KSU contests, as well as all eight road ASUN contests, will be shown on ESPN+. Coverage for the remaining nine games will be announced later this fall.
The Owls are coming off a school-record shattering season in which they posted a 26-9 record, the first-winning season in the school's Division I history, while also claiming their first ASUN regular season and tournament championship titles while advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to third-seed Xavier 72-67. All-Region and ASUN Tournament MVP
Terrell Burden is one of two returning starters from last year's team and is joined by the top recruiting class in the ASUN, highlighted by four-star freshman recruit
RJ Johnson and transfers
Jusaun Holt (Georgia),
Rongie Gordon (UAB) and
Jamel King (West Virginia).
Season tickets and renewals are on sale for Kennesaw State men's and women's basketball as both Owl hoops teams are set for exciting seasons in 2023-24. Season ticket packages start at only $119 for the Owls' 13-game men's basketball home schedule and are a great deal at $55 for the 14-game women's basketball home slate.
Don't miss our best combo deals, as fans can purchase the men's and women's basketball season ticket combo for $149 for all games.
New courtside season options are available this season as well, offering 40 new premium seats for men's basketball including a second row of courtside floor seating and two rows of baseline floor seats on both ends. Courtside season tickets start at $350 for men's basketball and $175 for women's basketball, and $380 for the courtside combo for both.
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here to secure your seats now or call the ticket office at 470-578-6957 to purchase courtside seats.
For Owl fans renewing their men's basketball season tickets or combo packages that wish to keep their same seats from last season, please login to your account
HERE or call
470-578-6957. All ticket info is available at
KSUOwls.com/tickets. Faculty and Staff discounts are available for all levels of seating as well. Please call the ticket office to secure discounted tickets.
