ATLANTA — Appearances in the four-game Legends Classic and a trip to the Bahamas for the inaugural Battle At Atlantis, as well as a total of 15 games against teams that played in last year’s NCAA and NIT post-season tournaments highlight Georgia Tech’s 2010-11 men’s basketball schedule, announced Tuesday by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
North Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia and Miami are the ACC teams visiting Alexander Memorial Coliseum this year. Tech’s 17-game home schedule also includes state rival Georgia (Dec. 7), Charleston Southern (Nov. 12), Fordham (Dec. 27), Mercer (Dec. 31), Charlotte (Jan. 2) and Chattanooga (Feb. 16).
“Once again I believe we’re playing one of the most competitive schedules in the country,” Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt said. “We’re all excited and looking forward to making a run at another NCAA Tournament bid. Aside from the ACC schedule, which is always difficult, we’ve got some really challenging non-conference opportunities away from home in the Legends Classic and the Battle At Atlantis, and we’re excited to be back in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.”
Hewitt’s 11th Georgia Tech team will participate in the Legends Classic, a 16-team event that takes place at four regional sites the week before Thanksgiving, followed by a four-team event in Atlantic City, N.J. The Yellow Jackets will host Albany and Niagara on Nov. 17 and 19, respectively, then play UTEP and either Syracuse or Michigan in Atlantic City on Nov. 26-27.
The Yellow Jackets also will play Richmond, a 2010 NCAA tournament qualifier, on Dec. 18 in the first Battle At Atlantis, a double-header event in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Georgia Tech will visit Kennesaw State for the first time on Nov. 15, and make a trip to upstate New York on Dec. 22 to play Siena, Hewitt’s former school and an NCAA Tournament entry the last two years. The Yellow Jackets also visit Northwestern on Nov. 30 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The regular season begins at home Nov. 12 against Charleston Southern. The ACC schedule begins at Boston College, and concludes with a home game against Miami. Tech’s ACC schedule includes seven games against teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament and four others against NIT teams. The 58th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament will be held March 10-13 in Greensboro, N.C.