Rider’s non-conference slate to feature Las Vegas Classic

Rider men’s basketball announced its 2017-18 non-conference schedule on Friday, which includes road trips to Xavier, Penn State and Providence as part of the Las Vegas Classic.

For the second straight year, the Broncs will open against Hampton, this time at home on Nov. 10. They will also host Hartford, Hofstra and Wagner in the first two months of the season.

Rider’s Las Vegas Classic slate begins with a Nov. 13 contest at Xavier, which advanced to last season’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. This will mark the first ever meeting between the schools.

The Classic continues when Rider plays at George Washington on Nov. 20. Then, the Broncs will play a pair of Classic games at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas versus opponents to be determined. Potential matchups include Hampton, UC Irvine and Northern Arizona.

In addition, Rider finishes a home-and-home series with Drexel on Dec. 2 at Alumni Gym, begins a new home-and-home series at Robert Morris on Dec. 6 and plays at Big Ten foe Penn State on Dec. 22. The Broncs are 1-3 all-time against the Nittany Lions.

“We’ve put together another very challenging nonconference schedule this season,” Rider Head Coach Kevin Baggett said in a release. “With a good mix of high-major teams with NCAA Tournament experience and some very talented mid-major teams, we believe this schedule will prepare us well for the conference portion of the season.”

The full 2017-18 schedule will be released in September.