The Saint Francis men's basketball team has played six nationally-ranked opponents in its non-conference schedule over the last two seasons. Head coach Rob Krimmel released his 2019-20 schedule on Friday, and although it may not have as many blueblood programs on it as the past two seasons, it still expects to be equally as challenging.SFU's Division I non-conference opponents went a combined 177-147 (.546) in 2018-19 with Florida State and VCU appearing as two of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament.Delaware, Florida State and UMBC made it to their conference semifinals with Florida State and UMBC losing in conference title games.Saint Francis played five common opponents last season, recording a 2-3 record with wins over Morgan State and Franciscan and losses at American, Delaware and Lehigh.Four of the 11 games will be at home versus the likes of American, Delaware, Lehigh and Franciscan."I am excited about the non-conference schedule we have put together for the 2019-2020 season," said Krimmel. "We were able to continue the trend of playing some of the top teams in the country while playing in locations where we have a strong fan base of alumni and family of our current players. We will face a variety of playing styles in some great venues that will help us get ready for the Northeast Conference."Saint Francis will be a daunting opponent in its own right, returning three starters from last season's team that hosted the Northeast Conference Championship.The Red Flash enter the 2019-20 campaign with two 1,000 point scorers for the first time since 1990-91 (Joe Anderson and John Hilvert) in Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) and Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea).Braxton the reigning NEC Player of the Year, is the first player in program history to rank in the top 10 in career scoring, rebounding and assists and needs 496 points and 88 rebounds to join Maurice Stokes as the only two 2,000 point, 1,000 rebound performers in SFU history.Saint Francis has won 16 or more games in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1966-67 – 1968-69 and 18 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1966-67 – 1967-68.Here is everything you need to know about SFU's 11 non-conference opponents:VCU returns four of its five starters next season, including its leading scorer Marcus Evans (13.6 ppg). Evans was named to the A-10 All-Conference First Team, while De'Riante Jenkins (11.3 ppg) landed on the Third Team. The Rams finished the season 25-8 and 16-2 in the Atlantic-10, winning the A-10 regular season title and receiving an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament where they would fall in the Round of 64 to UCF, 73-58.Richmond returns all five of its starters next season, including its leading scorer Grant Golden (17.2 ppg). Jacob Gilyard (16.2 ppg) also returns after being named to the A10 All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team, while Golden landed on the Third Team. The Spiders were 13-20 overall and 6-12 in the Atlantic 10. Saint Francis fans will remember former Wagner guard Blake Francis who led the Seahwaks in scoring in 2017-18. He transferred to Richmond before the 2018-19 season and will be eligible after sitting out all last season due to the NCAA transfer rules.Morgan State returns four of its five starters next season, including its leading scorer Stanley Davis (12.5 ppg). Point guard Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. is also a dangerous scoring threat and (10.7 ppg) was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team after his freshman season. The Bears went 9-20 last season, losing to the Red Flash 80-62 behind 21 points from Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) and 19 points and 13 rebounds from Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea).American returns three of its five starters next season, including its leading scorer Sa'eed Nelson (19.8 ppg), a Patriot League First Team All-Conference standout.The Eagles finished 15-15 overall and 9-9 in the Patriot League, good for fourth place. American downed Saint Francis 95-82 last season behind a career-high 33 points from Sam Iorio. The Red Flash won't have to contend with Iorio come November as American's second leading scorer at 13.3 ppg last season has decided to transfer.Delaware returns three of its five starters next season, including its leading scorer Ryan Allen (16.0 ppg.) and CAA All-Rookie selection Ithiel Horton (13.2 ppg). The Blue Hens will have to replace All-Conference Second Team selection Eric Carter (15.8 ppg) to graduation. Carter gave SFU fits in Delaware's win last season, finishing with 33 points and 12 rebounds. The Blue Hens went 17-16 overall before falling to Hofstra in overtime of the CAA Semifinals.Florida State returns just two of its five starters next season in Trent Forrest (9.3 ppg) and MJ Walker (7.5 ppg). ACC Sixth Man of the Year Mfiondu Kabengele was eligible to return but elected to declare for the NBA Draft, alleviating some of the size mismatches that this matchup will create. The Seminoles had a fantastic season in 2018-19, recording an overall record of 29-8 and reaching the ACC Title Game, where it lost to Duke.15-1 Florida State fell in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament to Gonzaga after wins over Vermont and Murray State.The Hawks will be in rebuild mode under first-year head coach Billy Lange who replaces Phil Martelli after 24 years at the helm of the Saint Joe's program. The Hawks were set to return their top two scorers in Charlie Brown Jr. (19.0 ppg) and Lamarr Kimble (15.6 ppg) but Brown left early for the NBA Draft and Kimble transferred to Louisville for his final year of eligibility. The 2018-19 campaign was considered a down year for the storied program as the Hawks went 14-19 overall and finished in 10place in the A-10 with a 6-12 conference mark.Saint Francis will try to avenge an 88-76 loss to Lehigh last season but will have the luxury of not having to face three of the Mountain Hawks top four scorers in Lance Tejada, Kyle Leufroy and Pat Andree. Patriot League Third Team All-Conference selection Jordan Cohen (13.6 ppg) returns as Lehigh's top scoring option. The Mountain Hawks finished 20-11 last season and 12-6 in the Patriot League to grab the third seed in the conference tournament.The Retrievers followed up its magical 2017-18 season with another 20-win campaign in 2018-19, finishing 21-13 before a loss to Vermont in the America East Championship. The Retrievers are expected to return four starters despite losing leading scorer Joe Sherburne. K.J. Jackson is leading returning scorer at 12.8 pg. These two programs met in the Second Round of the 2017 CIT. UMBC bested the Red Flash despite 16 points from then-sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte).Saint Francis will continue its series with its brothers from Steubenville for the third straight season. Franciscan returns all five of its starters next season, including its leading scorer Sean Hickey (15.0 ppg). Hickey was named All-Conference Second Team, while Matt Trent (12.8 ppg) earned Third Team honors. The Barons were 13-14 overall and 9-9 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, finishing in fifth place.The Tribe got big news when it was announced that leading scorer Nathan Knight (21.0 ppg) would return for his senior season. Knight was one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation's top center. He was also the first college basketball player since Tim Duncan to average 20 points, eight rebounds three assists and two blocks per game. First-year head coach Dane Fischer will rely heavily on Knight as he is the only returning starter after Luke Loewe's decision to transfer. William & Mary was 14-17 in 2018-19 and 10-8 in the CAA, finishing in fourth place.The conference schedule will be tweaked with the inclusion of Merrimack as the 11team in the conference. Teams will still play 18 conference games, playing eight opponents twice and two opponents just once. Saint Francis draws Merrimack and Faireigh Dickinson as single game opponents, playing home to Merrimack and away to Fairleigh Dickinson.The Red Flash open at Bryant on Jan. 2 and host Wagner in its conference opener on Jan. 9.Saint Francis won its first regular-season title since 1990-91 with a 12-6 conference mark last season. The Red Flash are 35-19 (.648) in conference play since the start of the 2016-17 season and have finished in the top three in the conference in all three years.The complete 2019-20 schedule can be seen in its entirety at the top of the page.