2023-24 SCHEDULE

CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will have four Power 5 opponents along with a trip to Hawaii on their 2023-24 men's basketball schedule that was announced Thursday.

The ASUN Conference also released the league schedule on Thursday, which has the Bears playing eight home and eight road conference games. 

The Bears, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Anthony Boone, will open the season on Monday, Nov. 6 at Tulsa, followed by a pair of home games against Hendrix (Friday, Nov. 10) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Monday, Nov. 13). The Hendrix matchup will be the second year of the Military Appreciation Night in conjunction with the Little Rock Air Force Base.

"That was an amazing event last year," said Boone. "Of course, getting to play our friends over at Hendrix is a great experience anyway. Coach Thad (McCracken) does a great job over there. But coupling it with our ROTC on campus and the Air Force Base, with them commissioning their recruits at halftime, that was an amazing experience, and one that most of us had never seen before.

"Getting to witness that was incredible. That was bigger than the game we played for our guys, the coaches and the fans to get to see that. I'm glad we're able to continue to do that."

The Bears and UAPB Golden Lions will be meeting for the first time since 1994.

"I played them all the time when I was (coaching) at Jackson State," said Boone. "It's an easy game for both of us, they'll play at our place this year and we'll return the game next year. It's just down the road and it just makes sense to play."

UCA will then make its second trip to Vanderbilt, and first since 2008, to take on the SEC Commodores on Friday, Nov. 17. The Bears will continue that road trip at Southeast Missouri on Monday, Nov. 20 and at Kansas State on Wednesday, Nov. 22.

"Vandy is a very different set up, different atmosphere," said Boone of Memorial Coliseum, which features the team benches on the end of the floor rather than the sidelines. "I would say it will take an adjustment period, but I don't think you can ever adjust to the way it's set up. 

"It will be a great challenge. Vanderbilt did very well last year and Coach (Jerry) Stackhouse is doing a great job there. It will be a tough game. We always play a challenging schedule and that game just fits in with what we normally do."

UCA and Kansas State met once before, in 2013. The Wildcats won three games in the NCAA Tournament last spring under first-year head coach Jerome Tang.

"Kansas State is really good right now," said Boone. "Coach Tang, who we are familiar with from playing Baylor the last several years. We're going there and they will be extremely challenging." 

The Bears will then, for the second consecutive season, host a multi-team event at the Farris Center, featuring games against Eastern Michigan and New Orleans on Nov. 25-26. UCA then hits the road for a matchup with Loyola-Marymount in Los Angeles on Nov. 29, and then on to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors on Dec. 3.

"We're not necessarily familiar with Eastern Michigan, except that Coach (Stan) Heath is there," said Boone. "And he is certainly familiar with the state of Arkansas. And then an old foe in New Orleans coming back to Conway to play. Coach Sless (Mark Slessinger) is good friends with us and we're looking forward to re-connecting with him." 

The Bears will then head west to take on the LMU Lions, who rose to fame in the Bo Kimble-Hank Gathers era in the late 1980s under the direction of Coach Paul Westhead. They will continue on to the islands for the second time and first since 2010 to take on Hawaii.

"LMU definitely has some tradition," said Boone. "With those guys there, they had quite the system. I don't know if our guys will understand the history that they have, but we'll educate them on that. And then getting to go to Hawaii, that will be a great experience for our players. We'll have to poll the guys and see if any of them have ever been there.

"I've been fortunate to coach there a few times and I know it will be a great experience for our players."

UCA will host the Little Rock Trojans as part of the "Governor's I-40 Showdown" on Friday, Dec. 8 at the Farris Center. A pair of Illinois schools are next, on the road at Eastern Illinois (Dec. 10) and at home vs. Western Illinois on Dec. 20. 

Two consecutive Power 5 matchups follow, at Oklahoma on Dec. 28 and at Missouri on Dec. 30 to round out the first semester slate. The Bears then host Champion Christian on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at the Farris Center for their final non-conference tuneup of the season. In all, UCA will play seven home games in the non-conference season, the most in recent years.

"Oklahoma and Missouri are two really solid programs," Boone said. "And playing them just one day apart will prepare us for when we play in conference and have to play games very similar to that when we go on the road and not have much break in between."

ASUN play begins Saturday, Jan. 6 at North Alabama in Florence, Ala. UCA's first five opponents in the conference slate will be home-and-home matchups. Those include Eastern Kentucky, Bellarmine, Lipscomb and Austin Peay. The remaining six opponents will only be played once, including Queens, Kennesaw State, Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, Jacksonville and North Florida.

League play wraps up on Friday, March 1 when the Bears host the UNA Lions. The 2024 ASUN Championship will again be played at campus sites. 

"The ASUN is similar to the Southland Conference," Boone said, "in that there are some really good teams. When we were in the Southland there were some extremely good teams. But I think the ASUN is better from top to bottom. It's highly, highly competitive every night, so it's important that we play a competitive non-conference schedule to get ourselves accustomed to being on point for every game, because we have to be." 

Boone credited his entire coaching staff for the schedule, particularly associate head coach Jeff Price.

"We all worked hard on putting together this schedule," Boone said, "but Coach Price is the point man on it. We worked hard at getting as many home games as we could. We have quite a few opportunities to catch the Bears at home before conference play begins."