HAMILTON -- The Colgate University men’s basketball team, under fifth-year head coach Emmett Davis, will open its 27-game 2002-03 schedule on Nov. 22 in the first round of the Pepsi-Marist Classic in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

“The Pepsi-Marist Classic gives us a very competitive situation to open our schedule.” said Davis. “The remainder of November and December offers six home games out of eight contests which will give Colgate fans an unusual early view of their team.”

The Raiders will compete with the host school Marist College along with Vermont and Eastern Michigan in the Pepsi-Marist Classic on Nov. 22-23, before opening their home season on Nov. 26 against Cornell.

Following the Cornell game, the Raiders will play host to Hobart, New Hampshire, Long Island, Harvard and Hartwick, while traveling to Syracuse and Drexel before the first of the year.

The annual clash with Syracuse will take place on Dec. 3 at the Carrier Dome.

Colgate kicks off January with three non-conference road games against Albany, Oral Roberts and Dartmouth, before starting Patriot League play on Jan. 11 at home against Lafayette College.

The remainder of the schedule will feature conference play against Holy Cross, Army, American, Navy, Bucknell and Lehigh. The Raiders will appear once on the Patriot League TV Game of the Week when they travel to Lafayette on Feb. 12.

The Patriot League scheduling will take on a new look this season. “The league schedule has changed this year with a hybrid travel partner schedule being employed,” said Davis. “It will be interesting to see how the Friday-Sunday weekend games impact various teams, especially in terms of game preparation and fatigue for the road teams.”

For the second straight season, the Patriot League quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be held at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland on March 8-9. The championship game is slated to be held at the home site of the highest remaining seed on March 14.

The full schedule