HIGH POINT, N.C.-- High Point University men's basketball head coach Tubby Smith announced the Panthers' 2021-22 non-conference schedule on Tuesday, September 7th. High Point will play 14 non-conference games in total, nine of them taking place inside the beautiful Qubein Center in its inaugural season and the other five occurring on the road. Four of the Panthers' five opponents on the road are Power-Five teams.
"We feel like we have put together probably our most competitive schedule since we have been here at High Point," Coach Smith said of the 2021-22 non conference schedule. "It will be a real test for us each night out. A challenging non-conference schedule like this will help prepare our team for Big South play."
Qubein Center Opening Night
HPU will open the Qubein Center for the first time for men's basketball on Thursday, November 4th at 7:00 PM with an exhibition game against Mount Olive. The Qubein Center is named after current High Point University President Nido Qubein and his wife, Mariana Qubein. President Qubein is an alumnus of High Point University and has been president at HPU since 2005. President Nido Qubein began his American college education at the University of Mount Olive and completed his undergraduate degree at High Point University. To represent President Qubein's important ties to both universities, the Trojans were selected as the first game to open the Qubein Center. The Qubein Center is a $170 million dollar state of the art facility and will be one of the finest collegiate basketball facilities in the country.
On Tuesday, November 9th, the Panthers host Shenandoah in its first game of the regular season at 8:00 PM in the Qubein Center.
Coach Smith on Shenandoah: "We get the season started with Shenandoah, the coach there is a former High Point player in Coach Adam Walsh. We are happy to have them coming here to open up the Qubein Center."
High Point's first road games of the year come against two Power-Five opponents as they will face both a Big 10 team and an ACC opponent in their trip to the Midwest. On Friday, November 12th, the Panthers head to Chicago to challenge Northwestern. It will be HPU's first time taking on Northwestern, while Tubby Smith is 10-6 all-time against the Wildcats. On Tuesday, November 16th, HPU will be in South Bend, Ind. for a midweek clash with Notre Dame. It will also be the first time HPU has played the Fighting Irish, while Tubby Smith and his teams are 4-0 all-time against Notre Dame.
Coach Smith on the first road trip of the year: "We are on the road against a very good Northwestern team from the Big 10 and Notre Dame from the ACC. We will be tested early."
The Panthers will be hosting the Legend's Classic at High Point as HPU welcomes Howard, Georgia State, and William & Mary for a non-conference early-season tournament. The Panthers' first game of the Legends Classic at High Point will come against Howard on Saturday, November 20th at 2:00 PM. HPU will then face either Georgia State or William & Mary on November 21st. The game containing both winners of the first game will take place at 2:00 PM on Sunday while the consolation game will tip-off at 5:00 PM.
Coach Smith on the Legend's Classic at High Point: "One of the reasons we played in the Legend's Classic was to be able to get these games at home that we did not have last year when they limited non-conference play to five games."
On Saturday, November 27th, at 2:00 PM, Chowan comes to High Point for a contest on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Furman, from the Southern Conference, travels to the Qubein Center for HPU's fourth straight home game on Tuesday, November 30th at 7:00 PM. The Paladins finished the regular season third in the Southern Conference before being upset in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament against VMI.
Coach Smith on Chowan and Furman: "We will play Chowan, they are a Division II team that will be very competitive. Robby Burke is their coach, his dad and I were very good friends, who was also the coach of Chowan. Furman will be one of the top teams in the SoCon again."
On Saturday, December 4th, the rivalry continues as HPU takes on Elon on the road. After not playing each other since 2006 until December 2019, HPU now faces Elon for the third consecutive season. On Tuesday, December 7th, High Point welcomes Guilford inside the Qubein Center.
Coach Smith on Elon and Guilford: "Elon is a much-improved team, they went deep into the CAA Tournament losing the in the CAA Championship game. Guilford was one of our old rivals and it's good to be playing local teams again."
On December 10th, The Panthers will face South Carolina State in a neutral site contest at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center. It will be the third time in the D-I era HPU has played South Carolina State.
On December 18th and December 21st, HPU hosts its final home games of non-conference play as UNC-Wilmington comes to town on Saturday, December 18th, wihle Florida Atlantic challenges the Panthers at home on Tuesday, December 21st. High Point hosts the Seahawks for the first time since 2001 and HPU hosts FAU for the first time after having had its first meeting with the Owls in 2019.
Coach Smith on UNC Wilmington and Florida Atlantic: "Both teams are picked to be competitive in their leagues in both the Colonial and the A-SUN, so we look forward to having them at home."
High Point ends its 2021-22 non-conference slate with a pair of high-profile matchups following Christmas. The Panthers will be East Lansing bound as they travel north to face Michigan State on Wednesday, December 29th. This is the first time HPU will have played MSU, but the 21st time a Tubby Smith team has faced the Spartans.
Coach Smith on the 2021-22 non-conference slate: "We wrap up non-conference play with Michigan State and then Kentucky. Obviously, I'm looking forward to going back to Kentucky. But again, as people can see, it is a very daunting schedule, but we have a group of guys that are excited about the schedule and we are looking forward to it."
HPU's last nonconference game of the season takes place in Lexington, Kentucky as Tubby Smith returns to Rupp Arena for the first time in 5420 days, nearly 15 years later, as HPU plays Kentucky on New Year's Eve. The news of the game and Coach Smith's return was first announced by current Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
It will be the fourth time in school history High Point has played Kentucky as all three previous meetings against the Wildcats came when Coach Smith was the head coach at Kentucky. The late, great, Jerry Steele, coached HPU for two of the three meetings between the Wildcats and Panthers as Smith welcomed his former coach and alma mater to Lexington twice.
High Point's 2021-22 non-conference schedule includes four games against Power-Five opponents, which ties the most in program history (2016). Panther fans will have nine chances to see HPU face non-conference opponents at home in the inaugural season of the Qubein Center.
Coach Smith on why fans support HPU in 2021-22: "With the schedule that we have put together and the new arena opening, this is the time to come out and make sure you get your seats. It's going to be a real happening, we have a very good team that I think people will have fun watching. I like that we have a veteran group coming back, so you need to get your tickets and I will see you there!"
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