Men's Basketball | 9/14/2018 9:16:00 AM

>>> 2018-19 WOU Men's Basketball Schedule

MONMOUTH, Ore.—With a four-game visit to Hawaii included in the slate, the Western Oregon University men's basketball team announced its 2018-19 schedule on Friday.

Western Oregon, the GNAC's defending regular season and tournament champion, will begin the season with a pair of exhibition contests; starting with a trip to the University of Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena on Nov. 1.

The regular season will open at home against Warner Pacific University on Nov. 15 and will continue to a Nov. 17 visit from Colorado Christian University.

The Wolves will take part in two NCAA DII tournaments with a pair of games scheduled at the Dixie State Classic in Utah on Nov. 23-24 and a long stay in the Aloha State with an opener at Hawaii Hilo followed by a three-game appearance at the Hoops in Hawaii DII Power Invite on Dec. 16-18.

"Oregon has been extremely generous with this opportunity and I appreciate coach (Dana) Altman and his staff for the chance to play such a quality program. We are also excited for the tournaments where we will get to represent our school and our region while facing teams from different parts of the country," WOU head coach Jim Shaw said.

Western Oregon is coming off a season where it finished with a 31-2 overall record and thanks to a school record 24-game winning streak, climbed to as high as a No. 3 ranking in NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll.

"The conference is extremely tough every year and the travel always presents a lot of challenges with the different states and time zones. Our early non-conference season with games in Utah and Hawaii is designed to help us prepare for those challenges," Shaw said.

The GNAC opener will take place in Monmouth on Nov. 29 against Simon Fraser University. The GNAC Tournament is slated for March 7-9 in Bellingham, Washington with Western Washington University as this year's tournament host.
"We have a lot more unknowns this year so it will be fun to see how guys come together as a group and how that group responds to the various competition," Shaw said.