2014-15 Schedule
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Saint Peter's University men's basketball head coach John Dunne has announced his 31-game schedule for the 2014-15 season. The schedule is highlighted by 14 games at the Yanitelli Center, including hosting two games in the Barclays Classic and road contests at Seton Hall and Rutgers.
"I think our non-conference schedule is tough," said Dunne. "It is certainly a well-rounded schedule and should get us ready for a tough MAAC season. We are really excited about the schedule this year and we are really excited to get started and we hope that our fans to come out to our home games to cheer us on."
The Peacocks will open up their 85th campaign in program history with its first-ever trip to Brown on Nov. 14. The two teams squared off in the second game of the Hall of Fame Tournament during the 1973-74 season with the Bears coming away with an 82-67 victory in the only tilt against each other prior to this year.
Saint Peter's will open up on the road for the seventh-straight campaign and will face an Ivy League team in the inaugural game for the second time in team history and the first since facing Dartmouth in the 1975-76 season opener.
On the way back from Providence, R.I., the squad will travel to Hartford on Nov. 16 for the second game of the season. It marks the third time in the last four years the Hawks are on the Peacocks schedule. The Peacocks lead the series 6-3, but Hartford has won two straight including a 66-56 decision last season in Hartford.
Saint Peter's will make its 2014-15 Yanitelli Center debut and open up Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play against Niagara on Nov. 20. The team opens up circuit play in November for the first time in team history. It will be the second-straight season the Peacocks will open up league play against one of the two teams of the northern tier of the conference. The squad will face the Purple Eagles in the league opener for the third time in program history and the second time at home. The two teams split the season series last season with each team winning on its home floor, but Niagara holds a 47-29 margin in the all-time series.
The squad then begins the Barclays Classic with a pair of road games at La Salle on Nov. 22 and at Rutgers three days later on Nov. 25. The Explorers return to the schedule for the first time since 1991-92, holding a 13-8 advantage in the all-time series including two-straight victories.
The Scarlet Knights come back on the schedule after a one-year hiatus. Rutgers leads the all-time series 11-3, but the Peacocks are coming off a 56-52 win in Piscataway in the 2012-13 season opener to end a three-game losing streak against the Scarlet Knights.
Saint Peter's continues the Barclays Classic by hosting a two-day tournament at the Yanitelli Center on Nov. 28-29. The Peacocks will open the tournament against Tennessee State on Nov. 28 while Norfolk State and St. Francis Brooklyn will battle in the first game on the day. Saint Peter's will then face either the Spartans or Terriers the next day.
The Peacocks have never faced the Tigers or Norfolk State while the squad holds a 31-26 margin against the Terriers, but the two teams have not played since 1995-96 after Saint Peter's won its third-consecutive tilt in the series.
After the tournament, the Peacocks will briefly return to MAAC play with a home contest against Canisius on Dec. 3. The Golden Griffins won both contests last season and have won four straight in the series to take a 40-31 advantage all-time.
Saint Peter's then returns to its non-conference schedule for the rest of the 2014 calendar year, starting with a return trip to Boston University on Dec. 6. The two teams will face each other for the third-straight campaign and for the second consecutive year in Boston. The Terriers have won six straight in the series including edging the Peacocks 66-65 last season to take a 7-2 lead in the all-time series.
Returning home to the Yanitelli Center, Saint Peter's will host Princeton on Dec. 10. The Tigers will make their first-ever appearance in Jersey City and the two teams will face each other for only the second time in team history after Princeton downed Saint Peter's 57-36 in 1979-80.
The Peacocks will remain close to Jersey City with its next two contests, starting with a trip to the Prudential Center to face Seton Hall on Dec. 14. Saint Peter's and Seton Hall continue its storied history after another great chapter last season when senior Desi Washington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Daulphin [Delaware State]) hit his first of four game-winning 3-pointers in the waning seconds of a game in an 83-80 overtime win last season to end a 17-game losing streak against the Pirates. The two teams will meet at Seton Hall's home court for the 25th-straight year and for the 86th meeting with the Pirates holding a 61-24 advantage.
"We are fortunate to have Rutgers and Seton Hall on our schedule,"said Dunne. "They are tough non-league opponents and we have had some success against those schools in the past, but certainly it's a new year, it's a new day and looking forward and hopefully will give them a competitive game."
Saint Peter's will then play its final non-conference home game against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 23. The Peacocks defeated the Knights 67-63 at the Rothman Center last season to end a two-game losing streak and holds a 40-14 margin in the all-time series.
Rounding out the 11-game non-conference slate will be a trip to Cornell on Dec. 28. The two teams will square off for the third time in team history exactly one year from the matchup in Jersey City where Saint Peter's downed the Big Red 67-59 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Saint Peter's starts the New Year by restarting MAAC play for the rest of the season with the squad's first league road game at Quinnipiac on Jan. 2. The two teams split last year's season series with each team winning on its home floor in the Bobcats first year in the circuit and the first-ever meetings between the two programs.
"The MAAC this year is going to be a tough league," said Dunne. "We hope that once MAAC play starts our chemistry has kicked in and our consistency has kicked in and hopefully we can get better to play our best basketball through a tough MAAC season leading us into the tournament."
The Peacocks return home for a game against Marist on Jan. 4. Each team won on its home floor last season and Saint Peter's leads the all-time series 23-21.
After the game against the Red Foxes, the Peacocks will have its next three on the road to start 2015 with four of its first five games away from Jersey City. Saint Peter's will travel to Manhattan (Jan. 7), Rider (Jan. 10) and Monmouth (Jan. 14) in the three-game stretch.
The Jaspers won all three meetings against Saint Peter's last season, including a matchup in the MAAC Quarterfinals. Manhattan has won seven consecutive and holds a 72-48-1 margin in the all-time series. In the Hourglass Rivalry road tour, the Peacock split the season series with the Broncs with each team winning on its home floor while Saint Peter's swept the Hawks in their first season in the league. Rider leads the all-time series 30-24 while the Peacocks hold a 21-8 margin in the series with Monmouth.
Returning home, Saint Peter's will host Manhattan on Jan. 16 and Quinnipiac on Jan. 21. The Peacocks will then head to Siena on Jan. 25 before returning home to host Rider on Jan. 29. Saint Peter's split the season series with the Saints and hold a 44-38 advantage in the all-time series.
Coming back to Jersey City, the Peacocks will host three of the next four games at the Yanitelli Center. Rider will be the first to come to town to complete its portion of the Hourglass Rivalry on Jan. 29.
The squad will then hit the road to face Iona for the first time this season. The defending MAAC regular season champions have won three straight in the series and hold a 60-48 advantage in the all-time series.
When Saint Peter's returns to the Yanitelli Center, Fairfield will be the first to come to town on Feb. 7 before Siena completes the two-game homestand two days later on Feb. 9. This will be the first meeting of the year with the Stags after Washington hit three 3-pointers in the waning seconds of three different games to help the Peacocks defeat Fairfield last season, including one in a 65-62 overtime victory to propel Saint Peter's past the Stags in the MAAC Tournament First Round. The Peacocks lead the series, 55-51.
After the Siena game, Saint Peter's will make its yearly trip to the Buffalo area to face Niagara (Feb. 13) and Canisius (Feb. 15). Starting with the trip to Niagara and Canisius, the Jersey City men will play four of its final six games on the road.
The Peacocks return home to host Monmouth in another Hourglass Rivalry matchup on Feb. 19 and then will hit the road at Fairfield on Feb. 21 and at Marist on Feb. 27.
Saint Peter's will conclude the regular season at home for the second-straight year when Iona finishes out the slate on Mar.1.
The MAAC Men's Basketball Championships will be held in Albany, N.Y., at the Times Union Center after playing the last three seasons at the MassMutal Center in Springfield, Mass. The tournament will run from Mar. 5-9.
The Peacocks finished the 2013-14 strong after winning seven of its last 10 games and posted a 14-17 overall mark and 9-11 in league play.
