ITHACA, N.Y. – A trip to the Gildan Charleston Classic and three games against 2014 NCAA tournament teams highlight the Cornell men's basketball team's 30-game schedule for the upcoming season. Cornell will play 10 games against teams coming off 20-win seasons and 11 against teams who competed in postseason last year (three vs. NCAA teams, five vs. CIT teams, four vs. CBI teams).The program's 117th season of basketball begins on the road when the Big Red visits George Mason on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. as part of a two-game weekend road set. It will be the first-ever meeting between the teams and will feature a return home for head coach, who served as an assistant coach for the Patriots for eight seasons (1997-2005). Cornell also will visit Loyola (MD) on Sunday, Nov. 16 in Baltimore, Md. The two teams played an exciting overtime contest a year ago in Ithaca with the Greyhounds topping the Big Red 93-89 despite a career-high 32 points by. The two teams have split the two contests between them all-time.Two days later, Cornell will play its home opener against Central New York rival Colgate to begin a 14-game slate in front of Newman Nation. The Big Red leads the all-time series 71-54 despite the Raiders' 81-58 victory a year ago. The 125 matchups between the teams is the most for the Big Red against any non-Ivy League opponent.The Big Red will play three games in the ESPN-sponsored Gildan Charleston Classic. The three-game, four-day event begins with a matchup against South Carolina of the SEC on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. The Gamecocks went 14-20 a season ago and finished strong with a 4-2 record in its final six games, including wins over Kentucky and Arkansas. Third-year head coach Frank Martin (28-38) returns four starters, including double figure scorer Sindarius Thornwell (13.4 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 3.0 apg.) in the backcourt.Cornell will meet either Penn State or Charlotte (depending on result) in the second round on Friday, Nov. 21 - the winners will play at 7 p.m., with the consolation game at 9 p.m. The tournament also includes Akron, Drexel, Miami (FL) and Southern California. The final four contests will be played on Sunday, Nov. 23. ( see complete story With eight games in the season's first 20 days, there is little rest after the Charleston Classic. Cornell returns to the hardwood for three games, including two at home, featuring games against Canisius (Nov. 26), at Binghamton (Nov. 30) and vs. UMass Lowell (Dec. 6). Cornell and the Golden Griffs, a 21-game winner from a season ago, will be meeting from the first time since 2001, while the Big Red will tangle with the River Hawks for the first time in program history. The contest will be one of three scheduled with first-time opponents (Alfred State and Howard are the others). Additionally, Cornell could also have initial matchups with Akron or Charlotte at the Charleston Classic. On the flip side, the Big Red will meet Binghamton for the fifth straight season and the seventh time in the last nine years.After a 15-day break for final exams, Cornell will hit the road to meet Radford on Sunday, Dec. 21 and Siena on Tuesday, Dec. 23. A late putback handed the Saints a 71-70 triumph at Newman Arena to extend Siena's advantage in the all-time series to 3-1. Both teams played in the College Basketball Invitational a year ago, with Radford advancing to the semifinals and Siena going on to win the title.The Big Red will resume its series with Central New York rival Syracuse on New Year's Eve at the Carrier Dome. ( see complete story Cornell closes its non-conference season with three of its final five games at home with contests against St. Peter's (Dec. 28), Howard (Jan. 8) and Alfred State (Jan. 10) and a road game against Buffalo (Jan. 3) and another against an opponent to be announced at a future date. The Bulls and head coach Bobby Hurley went 19-10 a year ago and won the Mid-American Conference's East division (13-5).As difficult as the non-conference challenges may be, the Ivy League schedule is even rougher.The Big Red will open with its home-and-home series against Columbia, who went 21-13 a year ago and went to the quarterfinals of the CIT. Cornell opens the Ivy League home schedule against the Lions to begin conference play on Saturday, Jan. 17. Two weeks later, the Big Red will host the team that beat the Lions in the CIT, tournament runner-up and 19-game winning Yale. Brown won 15 contests and finished .500 in league play and is expected to be a challenger atop the league in 2014-15.With five of the team's first six conference games at home, the Big Red will have an opportunity to get off to a great start. Penn and 21-game winner Princeton, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the CBI, will visit Newman Arena on Feb. 6-7. Cornell closes out its home schedule with contests against three-time defending Ivy champion Harvard on Feb. 27, then will celebrate seniorsand Ned Tomic the following night when it meets Dartmouth.* Story edited 9/9/2014