2012-13 Men's Basketball Schedule

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The men's basketball staff has announced their 2012-13 schedule today and highlighting the early season is an exhibition contest at Oakland University.  Head coach Burt Paddock and his defending WHAC champion Panthers will take on the Golden Grizzlies on October 30, one day after opening their regular season with a home date against nearby Grace Bible College.  The team will also participate in three tournaments in their non-conference schedule including trips to Indiana Wesleyan and Embry Riddle (Fla.).

Davenport University is coming off its most successful season in school history that saw the team claim their first ever Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) regular season and tournament titles as well as make a run to the NAIA Fab Four. Head coach Burt Paddock is pleased to announce the addition of NCAA DI Oakland University for an exhibition game along with the toughest schedule in the program's 10 year history.

“We'd like to thank Coach Greg Kampe and his staff for allowing our kids and program the opportunity to come to Oakland. Under Coach Kampe, the Grizzlies have become synonymous with championships and we are very excited to get this opportunity.”

The exhibition game will take place one day after Davenport opens their 2012-13 regular season against 4-time NCCAA DII defending national champion Grace Bible College and head coach Gary Bailey.  The early season matchup with the Tigers and Grizzlies are all part of a schedule that Paddock has put together to test his team before they enter another grueling season in conference play.

“It will define some of our strengths and weaknesses which we will focus on in practice after the exhibition and continue to try and improve upon as we approach conference play, said Paddock.  In practice, we try to place our kids in situations that take them out of their comfort zone.  We hope we are able to place them in difficult situations so when they arise in games they are prepared for it.”

Also on the non-conference slate in 2012-13 is perennial NAIA powers Indiana Wesleyan, who is favored to win the Crossroads League (formerly the MCC) and Embry Riddle (Fla.) who was one of only four teams to defeat NAIA DII national runner up Northwood University last season. Both of those games will be on the road and the Panthers will also see Southern Oregon University in Daytona Beach in part of the Mitsubishi/Kia Invitational hosted by Embry Riddle.

“Both IWU and ERAU are coming off National Tournament appearances and are perennial powers at the NAIA level, said Paddock.  In fact, IWU returns numerous starters and is likely to be a top-5 team in most preseason polls.   Embry Riddle will pose a significant challenge in that our team will have to fly south midweek and open the tournament with Southern Oregon and follow it with the home team the next day.”

The conference schedule has added four more games to make 22 all-together with the addition of league newcomers Marygrove College and Lawrence Tech.  Davenport will face each team twice and that includes three opponents from last year's national tournament in Cornerstone, Indiana Tech and Lourdes. DU's WHAC opener is on November 17 when they welcome Marygrove to the Student Center.  All league games in 2012-13 will be played in a double-header with the women's team.

“Although our schedule is demanding with incredible competition and a lot of travel, we are excited to see how this team measures up, added Paddock.  We've added a great deal of talent, but talent alone will not succeed without hard work.  If our 1st ten days of school are indicative of how our season is going to go I couldn't be more pleased.” 
 
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