GREENSBORO, N.C.- The defending Southern Conference Champion UNCG men's basketball program released its 2018-19 regular season schedule today featuring road non-conference matchups with two SEC teams ranked in CBSSports.com's most recent preseason poll in No. 1 Kentucky and No. 19 LSU. The non-conference road schedule will also see the Spartans make in-state commutes to North Carolina A&T, UNCW and Elon. In December, UNCG will close out the non-conference slate against Radford, the defending Big South Champion, at the Greensboro Coliseum.

"We're pleased to have our schedule complete and excited to start our pre-season practices in preparation for the season,” said Head Coach Wes Miller . “Playing our first three games on the road will test us early, but also help prepare us for what we will face as we make road swings in conference play."

The Spartans are coming off a program-record 27 victories last season and are returning First Team All-SoCon selection Francis Alonso , First Team All-SoCon Tournament selection Demetrius Troy , SoCon Defensive Player of the Year James Dickey and SoCon All-Freshman selection Isaiah Miller .

Miller, meanwhile, received a long-term contract extension in March and is just 13 victories away from setting the program record for wins by a coach as he continues to build the Spartans into one of the premier programs in the SoCon. Over the past two years the Spartans have posted an impressive 29-7 record in league play, including a 16-2 record at home.

Season tickets for the 2018-19 UNCG men's basketball season are on sale starting as low as $139. Reserve your seats as the Spartans look to build upon last year's SoCon regular season and tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearance. Season tickets include complimentary parking passes, buddy passes to bring friends to a game, an exclusive invitation to an open practice with the team, the opportunity to experience a women's basketball game in Fleming Gym and more. Contact the UNCG ticket office at 336-334-3250 for more information to purchase season tickets. Season tickets can also be purchased online using this link. Individual tickets will go on sale Oct. 8.

Tested On The Road Early: at North Carolina A&T Nov. 6, at LSU Nov. 9 and at UNCW Nov. 13

For the third time in the last four years, the Spartans will face crosstown opponent North Carolina A&T, this time on Nov. 6 at the Corbett Sports Center to open the season. This will also be the first contest in a four-year agreement between the two schools. Three days later, the Spartans will head to Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the first time in program history.

To close out the early swing of games on the road, UNCG will return to North Carolina to face UNCW on Nov. 13 at Trask Coliseum. UNCG defeated UNCW 71-58 in their most recent meeting last December at the Greensboro Coliseum.

SoCon Champions Return Home: vs. Johnson & Wales Nov. 16 and vs. Prairie View A&M Nov. 19

The Spartans begin their home action with Johnson & Wales, a participant in the Delaware Invitational on Nov. 16 at the Greensboro Coliseum. This will be the first meeting of these two teams. On Nov. 19, UNCG will host Prairie View A&M, who won 16 games last season and went 12-6 in the SWAC.

Last season the Spartans won a program-record 16 home games.

Delaware Invitational: vs. Johnson & Wales Nov. 16, vs. Delaware Nov. 23 (in Newark), vs. Louisiana Tech Nov. 24 (in Newark) and vs. Greensboro College Nov. 27

The Spartans will be participating in the Delaware Invitational, which will include two games on the road and two games at home including the aforementioned home opener against Johnson & Wales.

Next the Spartans hit the road to take on Delaware and Louisiana Tech in Newark, Del. Last season in the UNCG Spartan Classic, UNCG defeated Delaware 71-40. The Spartans will then return home to face Greensboro College on Nov. 27.

Visiting A Blueblood: at Kentucky Dec. 1

For the first time in UNCG's history, the Spartans will play against Kentucky. The game will take place on Dec. 1 at famed Rupp Arena.

One of college basketball's elite programs, the Wildcats have finished in the Top 25 seven of the last nine years and won the national championship in 2012. Last year, the Wildcats made it to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.

One Final Non-Conference Road Game: at Elon Dec. 7

As part of a continued home-and-home agreement, UNCG will make the short commute to Elon to face the Phoenix. This will be the Spartans' first appearance in the recently completed Schar Center, which is replacing Alumni Gym.

Last year in Greensboro the Spartans defeated Elon 75-44.

Closing Out Non-Conference In Greensboro: vs. Coppin State Dec. 12, vs. North Alabama Dec. 15 and Radford Dec. 18

The Spartans' final three games before opening up SoCon action will be at home against Coppin State, North Alabama and Radford. The game against North Alabama will be UNCG's only appearance at Fleming Gymnasium this season.

The non-conference finale against Radford will pit two defending conference champions that won 20-plus games last season and made NCAA tournament appearances. The Spartans made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 while the Highlanders earned a bid for the first time since 2009.

Southern Conference Matchups

The Spartans will begin SoCon play on Dec. 22, when they travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on Samford.

On Dec. 29 UNCG will host Chattanooga in the SoCon home opener and the team's final game of 2018 before flipping the calendar. The Spartans' next two home conference contests will be against Wofford (Jan. 10) and Furman (Jan. 12), two of the four SoCon teams that won 20 or more games last season.

UNCG's final home game will take place on Feb. 24 at the Greensboro Coliseum against ETSU. The Spartans and Buccaneers have met in the finals of the SoCon Tournament each of the last two years with UNCG winning 62-47 this past March.

This year's SoCon Tournament will once again be held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C., from March 8-11.

2018-­‐19 Men's Basketball Schedule

Games in bold are home contests. Dec. 15 vs. North Alabama at Fleming Gymnasium. All other home contests are at the Greensboro Coliseum.

^ Delaware Invitational game.

*Conference game.

-- UNCG –