June 17, 2008

2008-09 UT Arlington Men's Basketball Schedule

ARLINGTON, Texas - - UT Arlington men's basketball coach Scott Cross says a 2008-09 non-conference schedule filled with trips all across the country will reveal quickly how tough his team is, and he's hoping it will teach the Mavericks how to win on the road.

UTA opens the season Nov. 15 at home against Hardin-Simmons in one of 13 non-conference games. Ten of those non-conference games will be on the road. Highlighting the non-conference slate is a game in Denton against North Texas where the Mavericks will try to make it four consecutive victories against the Mean Green.

The Mavericks also travel to Marshall and Tulsa for games against teams from Conference USA.

As usual, UTA didn't leave the Big 12 off the slate. UTA plays a Dec. 20 game on the road against Baylor.

"This schedule is tough, but I'm hoping it helps our team bond quickly, and I'm hoping it teaches us to win on the road," Cross said. "In order to win our conference, you have to win road games. I like this schedule because these are games that we can win but ones that will really test us going into conference play."

The Southland Conference opener is scheduled Jan. 10 on the road against Texas State.

The home opener in league play is Jan. 14 against Lamar University.

UTA returns several key players from last season's team, which broke a school record for victories with a 21-12 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament before losing to No. 2 Memphis in an NCAA South Region game. Roge'r Guignard, who will be a junior, is back after hitting a single-season record 99 3-pointers.

Senior-to-be and leading scorer Anthony Vereen is back after scoring at least 20 points in five of his final six games and earning SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Junior-to-be guard Brandon Long also returns after injuring his thumb in Game 9 of last season. He was averaging 12.3 points per game at the time. Shot blocker Trey Parker is back for his sophomore season as well. UTA also welcomes the addition of Boston College transfer Marquez Haynes, who will be classified a junior and was one of the top high school players in the state out of Irving High before signing with Boston College.

The Mavericks also return solid forward Tommy Moffitt and point guard Jeremy Smith.

"We feel like we have a chance to be pretty good, but it's going to take a lot of work in the preseason to see where all the pieces fit," Cross said. "The talent is there - more talent, in my opinion, than we had last season - but that doesn't always translate into wins if the guys don't work hard and don't work together."