Schedule Notes

Three Saturday home dates, highlighted by the program's 168th all-time meeting with long-time rival St. Bonaventure, road games at cross-town rival Buffalo and ACC member Pittsburgh, and participation in the Boca Raton Beach Classic highlight the 2019-20 Canisius men's basketball non-conference schedule, head coachannounced on Wednesday.The 116th season in program history will officially start Nov. 9, when the Golden Griffins travel to play at Brown. In all, Canisius will play 11 non-league games before starting the 20-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) slate in early January. The full MAAC schedule will be announced at a later date.The first of Canisius' three non-league home games is set for Nov. 16, when the Blue and Gold plays host to Bucknell. The Griffs' annual meeting with long-time rival St. Bonaventure is scheduled for Nov. 23, in the Koessler Athletic Center, and the team's final non-conference home game will be Dec. 14 when Canisius takes on Holy Cross. The St. Bonaventure and Holy Cross games will tip-off at 2 p.m.For the fifth-straight season, Canisius will participate in a regular-season tournament. The Griffs will join with Hofstra, Holy Cross and Mercer in the Naismith Bracket of the Boca Raton Beach Classic, set for Dec. 1-2 at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Canisius will play two on-campus round games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic as well, with road games at UIC (Nov. 26) and at FAU (Dec. 4). Opponents and game times for the Naismith Bracket of the Boca Raton Beach Classic will be announced in the near future.Canisius will close out the 2019 calendar year with a pair of road games, starting Dec. 18 when the Blue and Gold travels across town to meet local rival Buffalo in Alumni Arena. The final game in the non-conference season features a road trip to Pittsburgh on Dec. 30 for the first meeting between the Griffs and the Panthers since the 1978-79 campaign.Season tickets for the 2019-20 season are now available. CLICK HERE or call (716) 888-TIXX for more information.BrownNov. 9, 2019Providence, R.I.Canisius leads 5-2Brown 97 – Canisius 90 (OT); Jan. 8, 2019The Nov. 9 opening date marks the earliest for the Griffs in program history… Canisius will start the season on the road for the fifth-straight season… This will mark the first time the Griffs will open the season against an Ivy League school since the start of the 2001-02 campaign when the team defeated Cornell at home.AlbanyNov. 13, 2019Albany, N.Y.Albany leads 3-2Albany 75 - Canisius 66; Nov. 17, 2018Canisius and Albany will be playing for the third-straight season and for the sixth time since the series began during the 2007-08 campaign… Four of the previous five games in this series have been won by the home team… The Griffs have played a school from America East in each of the previous five seasons.BucknellNov. 16, 2019Koessler Athletic CenterCanisius leads 7-0Canisius 82 - Bucknell 73; Nov. 13, 2018The Griffs opened the 2018-19 campaign at Bucknell with an 82-73 victory… Dating back to 1940, Canisius is 55-23 in home openers, and the team has a 16-11 mark when the home opener has been played in the Koessler Athletic Center… The Blue and Gold is 96-63 all-time against current members of the Patriot League.St. BonaventureNov. 23, 2019Koessler Athletic CenterSt. Bonaventure leads 101-66St. Bonaventure 70 - Canisius 55; Nov. 28, 2018Canisius has played more games (167) against St. Bonaventure than any other non-league rival… The Bonnies will be playing in the Koessler Athletic Center for just the eighth time in a series that dates back to the 1919-20 campaign… The last time these two schools played an afternoon game in Buffalo came on Nov. 17, 2012 – a 72-69 home win by Canisius.UICNov. 26, 2019Chicago, Ill.First MeetingN/AThis will be the first of two on-campus round games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic… This game will be the first in program history against UIC… The Griffs will be playing their first game in the city of Chicago since Nov. 17, 2009, when the team went on the road and opened the year at Loyola Chicago.Hofstra, Holy Cross, MercerDec. 1-2, 2019Boca Raton, Fla.Canisius will making its 54th in-season tournament appearance in program history… The Griffs are in the "Naismith Bracket" along with Hofstra, Holy Cross and Mercer… A meeting with Mercer would be the Griffs' first in program history.FAUDec. 4, 2019Boca Raton, Fla.First MeetingN/AThis will be the second of two on-campus round games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic… This will be the first game between the two programs… The game against FAU will be Canisius' 14th game against a current member of Conference USA.Holy CrossDec. 14, 2019Koessler Athletic CenterHoly Cross leads 14-6Holy Cross 65 – Canisius 63; Dec. 20, 2018The Griffs and the Crusaders have met 20 times previously in a series that began during the 1946-47 season… This will be just the second time Holy Cross has played in the Koessler Athletic Center, with the first occasion coming during the 2014-15 campaign… These two teams have played in six different buildings, including the Boston Garden, The Aud and the Niagara Falls Convention Center.BuffaloDec. 18, 2019Buffalo, N.Y.Canisius leads 32-19#21/22 Buffalo 87 – Canisius 72; Dec. 29, 2018Canisius and Buffalo will be meeting for the 52nd time in series history, which dates back to 1912… The Griffs will be playing the Bulls in Alumni Arena for the 13th time since 1996… Two of the three overtime games in this series have been played in Alumni Arena.PittsburghDec. 30, 2019Pittsburgh, Pa.Canisius leads 2-1Canisius 87 – Pittsburgh 83; Dec. 20, 1978The fourth meeting between the two programs and the first since Dec. 20, 1978… This will mark the second-straight season where Canisius has played an ACC-member school – last year the Blue and Gold played at Florida State… Pitt head coachand Canisius head coachhave worked together in the past as part of USA Basketball.