Fairfield Stags Basketball Travel to North Carolina to Face No.1 Ranked Tar Heels

The Fairfield University Stags men’s basketball team and head coach Sydney Johnson begin their 2015-16 campaign with a three-game on road trip, including the University of North Carolina to face the no. 1 ranked Tar Heels in the middle game of the swing on Sunday afternoon (November 15th) at 4:00 PM.

ESPNU will televise. WVOF Radio, 88.5 FM, is the flagship station for Stags Basketball, and Bob Heussler will be delivering the play-by-play for his 27th consecutive season with Fairfield hoops great Joe DeSantis providing expert analysis.

On the heels of the Stags opener Friday afternoon against the Yale University Bulldogs, Fairfield travels to the famed Dean E. Smith Center for its encounter against the Tar Heels under the tutelage of head coach Roy Williams, coming off a 26-12 season.

North Carolina’s fabled program was established in 1910. The Tar Heels are five-time NCAA champions, and have made 46 tournament appearances.

Fairfield is paced by senior forward Marcus Gilbert last season’s leading scorer with 16.4 ppg and two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week Tyler Nelson (10.2 ppg) to lead the scoring attack.

The Stags have a roster filled with experience, including five student-athletes who started 13 or more games in Gilbert and Mike Kirkland with 31 starts apiece, followed by Nelson (27 starts), Amadou Sidibe (22 starts) and Jerome Segura (13 starts).

Sidibe was the Stags’ top rebounder with 6.8 per game, while Segura posted 64 assists in his 30 appearances as a rookie, best among returning student-athletes. Kirkland added support on both sides of the court, placing third in scoring (7.9 ppg) and rebounding (4.0 rpg). Senior Coleman Johnson finished third in the MAAC with 1.5 blocks per game and led the team with 41 rejections in 28 games.

Following Sunday’s game, the Stags will fly to Northwestern University for a November 18 match up. The three-game road trip amounts to 1,200 miles of travel for the Stags. The Wildcats just missed the .500 mark with a 15-17 overall record after winning five of their last seven regular-season games. Both games are part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic that includes host schools North Carolina, Northwestern, the University of Missouri, and Kansas State University

Tickets for the North Carolina game are priced from $20-$38. Here is the link to ticket information: http://ev10.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3AUNC%3AMB16%3AB02%3A&linkID=unc&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=MBI&cgc=

Fairfield plays its home opener when Sacred Heart University visits Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport on Saturday, November 21st, at 7:00 PM. The two women’s teams will also meet that day in the first game of the doubleheader. The Pioneers finished the regular season with 15 overall wins and nine Northeast Conference victories, the most overall and conference wins since they went 17-14 and 12-6 during the 2008-09 season. Tickets are priced from $9-$15. Here is the link for tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/fairfield-stags-double-header-v-sacred-bridgeport-connecticut-11-21-2015/event/1D004F5BB4270E4D?artistid=843594&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7&tm_link=venue_msg-0_1D004F5BB4270E4D

Here is the complete 2015-16 Fairfield men’s basketball schedule:

2015-16 Fairfield University Men’s Basketball Schedule

Friday, November 13 Yale University (Connecticut 6 Classic)

Sunday, November 15 at University of North Carolina, CBE Hall of Fame Classic

Wednesday, November 18 at Northwestern University, CBE Hall of Fame Classic

Saturday, November 21 Sacred Heart University

Tuesday, November 24 at University of Maryland-Eastern Shore

Friday, November 27 Columbia University

Tuesday, December 1 at Iona College*

Friday, December 4 Rider University*

Friday, December 18 Wagner University

Tuesday, December 22 Loyola University (Md.)

Sunday, December 27 at Bucknell University

Saturday, January 2 at Manhattan College*

Monday, January 4 Dartmouth College

Thursday, January 7 at Siena College*

Saturday, January 9 at Rider University*

Monday, January 11 Monmouth University*

Friday, January 15 Niagara University*

Tuesday, January 19 Saint Peter’s University*

Friday, January 22 at Marist College*

Sunday, January 24 Iona College*

Friday, January 29 Canisius College

Monday, February 1 Quinnipiac University*

Friday, February 5 at Monmouth University*

Sunday, February 7 Manhattan College*

Saturday, February 13 at Quinnipiac University*

Monday, February 15 Marist College*

Thursday, February 18 at Canisius College*

Saturday, February 20 at Niagara University*

Wednesday, February 24 Siena College*

Saturday, February 27 at Saint Peter’s College*

Home Games in Bold

Connecticut 6 Classic hosted by Central Connecticut State University

* - MAAC Game