FULL 2022-23 SCHEDULE
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (August 31, 2022) – A trip to East Lansing, Mich. to face Michigan State will commence the Northern Arizona men's basketball team's 2022-23 schedule in an announcement by head coach
Shane Burcar on Tuesday. Michigan State will be one of three Power Five teams on the Lumberjacks' schedule this upcoming season and one of two NCAA Tournament teams in the non-conference slate.
Burcar, a native of Hancock, Mich., will take the Lumberjacks back to his home state in what will truly be a rare occasion. NAU's season opener at Michigan State will be just the program's second game ever against a Big Ten opponent and the first at a Big Ten venue. NAU previously faced Northwestern in 1987 on a neutral court in Portland, Ore.
Furthermore, it will be just the program's second all-time game in the state of Michigan following a game at Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti in 1968.
"I want to thank Coach (Tom) Izzo because when I spoke to him in 2019, he said he would work on it and he stayed true to his word three seasons later," Burcar said. "That says everything you need to know about Coach Izzo. For our program, to go into that type of building on Opening Night, it speaks to our credibility and it means everything for us. The guys are really excited about it and it's something we've been recruiting towards."
"It will also tell us where we stand after Opening Night," Burcar added. "It will tell us what we need to improve on and what's working well. There's nothing but upside after playing Michigan State on game one of the season."
Following the Lumberjacks' season opener at Michigan State in the Breslin Center on Nov. 7, NAU's first week continues at Arizona State on Nov. 10 marking consecutive games against Power Five foes to start the campaign. The Lumberjacks' busy week concludes on Nov. 12 at Utah Valley, a 20-win team out of the WAC.
NAU's home opener – the first of 14 home games not including its exhibition against SAGU American Indian College on Nov. 1 – will be versus Benedictine Mesa on Nov. 15 in Rolle Activity Center. The Lumberjacks will also host UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 18 before heading back out on the road.
NAU will then travel to Edinburg, Texas for the two-game Leon Black Classic hosted by UTRGV. To open the MTE, NAU will face Texas, who like Michigan State advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Lumberjacks' first-ever meeting against the Longhorns on Nov. 21 will precede a matchup versus UTRGV the following day. Last season, the two teams split a home-and-home series with both teams winning on the road.
The non-conference schedule is rounded with home games against Abilene Christian (Nov. 27), Ottawa (Nov. 29) and Utah Valley (Dec. 10) with the latter completing a home-and-home between the 'Jacks and Wolverines. NAU will also travel to Pepperdine (Dec. 3), Pacific (Dec. 6) and former Big Sky rival Southern Utah (Dec. 17) before the start of conference play.
Both Abilene Christian and Southern Utah were postseason tournament semifinalists in the College Basketball Invitational and The Basketball Classic respectively last season.
With Southern Utah moving to the WAC in July, NAU will play 18 conference games with home-and-home dates against the remaining nine Big Sky institutions. League play for the Lumberjacks begins on the road at Idaho State on Dec. 29 followed by Weber State on New Year's Eve. NAU's Big Sky opener will follow on Jan. 5 and 7 versus Montana and Montana State at Findlay Toyota Court.
The Lumberjacks' longest stretch at home during the conference portion of the schedule will come from Jan. 19-28 with three games versus Idaho, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado. Likewise, their longest stretch on the road in 2023 will come against those three schools from Feb. 16-25 leading up to Senior Night and the regular season finale on Feb. 27 versus Weber State.
For the fifth consecutive season, the Big Sky Championship will be held in Boise, Idaho from March 4-8 to determine the league's auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"I would argue that from top to bottom, the Big Sky is knocking on the door of the 3, 4, 5 spots in terms of best leagues west of the Mississippi," Burcar said. "There are great coaches and players all the way around our league and every night is a great college basketball game. The credibility of our league is obvious."
Season ticket renewals are ongoing, while new season tickets for the 2022-23 season featuring 14 games in Flagstaff will go on sale on Sept. 8. Groups and mini plans will be available starting Oct. 4 with single-game tickets set to go live on Oct. 10. For more information regarding tickets, please visit this
link or contact
LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu or 928-523-0639.
To stay up to date with the NAU men's basketball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
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