Men's Basketball | 09/12/23 | 9:01 AM

HELENA, Mont. - Head Coach Ryan Lundgren has announced the finalization of the Carroll College Men's Basketball 2023-24 regular season schedule.

The Fighting Saints, under the direction first-year head coach, Lundgren, will be tested with a very difficult non-conference schedule that should prepare them well for the always grueling Frontier Conference season.

The non-conference portion of the schedule features games against a number of the West's best NAIA basketball schools, as well as a pair of exhibition contests at NCAA Division I powers.

"We are really excited about the upcoming challenge that our non-conference schedule provides." Said Lundgren. "Seven of our nine road games are against top-50 RPI schools, four of which fall in the top-20. This type of schedule will prepare us for the rigors of an always challenging, Frontier Conference schedule. In addition to these games, we play two exhibition games against Division I schools, UNLV and Utah Valley. It will be a great experience for our players to compete against two teams who have been no stranger to the NCAA tournament." 

Carroll will be tested right from the get-go, opening their year with a pair of games against two top-ranked teams from the NAIA a year ago in OUAZ and Arizona Christian on Novemer 3 and 4. Before they return home, they'll head North to Orem, Utah to take on NCAA Division I Utah Valley on November 6.

Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) and Corban (Ore.) will come to Helena on November 10 and 11 as part of the annual Comfort Suites Classic.

A pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference schools are on deck the following week when the Saints head to La Grande, Ore. for games with Eastern Oregon and Walla Walla (Wash.).

The Saints will begin December on the road in North Dakota, squaring off with a pair of North Star Conference opponents in Mayville State (N.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.) on December 2 and 3.

Carroll will host SAGU (Ariz.) on December 14 before heading to Chandler for the annual Cactus Classic, where they will face the likes of Huntington (Ind.), The Master's (Calif.), and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).

December will end with a home matchup with Lakeland (Mich.) on the 29th, before a New Year's Eve exhibition at Mountain West Conference power, UNLV.

The Frontier portion of the 2023-24 schedule is more kind than last year, with the Saints hosting eight games at the PE Center as opposed to seven in 2022-23 due to the nature of the Frontier's unbalanced six-team rotation.

Carroll will host Montana Western, Providence, and MSU-Northern twice in 2023-24, while Rocky and Montana Tech will each visit Helena once.

"The level of play in the Frontier Conference is as high as any league in the country." Said Lundgren. "There are no nights off in this conference and we welcome the opportunity as a means to prepare us for the National Tournament. As deep as our league is this year, we feel that we've assembled a roster that will compete for a Frontier Conference championship."

The Saints will officially begin practice later this month.

2023-24 Schedule

Oct 22    Purple/Gold Scrimmage     Helena, MT 

Nov 3     Ottawa University               Glendale, AZ 

Nov 4     Arizona Christian                Glendale, AZ 

Nov 6     Utah Valley (EXB)                Orem, UT 

Nov 10   Embry-Riddle                      Helena, MT 

Nov 11   Corban College                   Helena, MT 

Nov 17   Eastern Oregon                   La Grande, OR 

Nov 18   Walla Walla                          La Grande, OR 

Dec 1     Mayville State                      Dickinson, ND 

Dec 2.    Dickinson State                   Dickinson, ND 

Dec 14   SAGU                                    Helena, MT 

Dec 16   Huntington                           Chandler, AZ 

Dec 17   The Masters                         Chandler, AZ 

Dec 19   MidAmerica Nazarene         Chandler, AZ 

Dec 29   Lakeland                               Helena, MT 

Dec 31   UNLV (EXB)                          Las Vegas, NV 

Jan 6     Providence                           Great Falls, MT 

Jan 11   Montana Western                 Helena, MT 

Jan 13   Montana Tech                       Helena, MT 

Jan 18   Rocky Mountain College     Billings, MT 

Jan 20   MSU-Northern                      Helena, MT 

Jan 25   Montana Western                 Dillon, MT

Jan 27   Providence                           Helena, MT

Feb 1     Montana Tech                       Butte, MT 

Feb 3     Rocky Mountain College     Helena, MT 

Feb 8     MSU-Northern                      Havre, MT 

Feb 10   Montana Western                Helena, MT 

Feb 15   Providence                           Helena, MT 

Feb 17   Montana Tech                      Butte, MT 

Feb 22   Rocky Mountain College    Billings, MT

Feb 24   MSU-Northern                     Helena, MT 

March 3-5 Frontier Conference Tournament Great Falls, MT
 

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