La Salle, St. Joe’s, and Temple release non-conference basketball schedules

College basketball season is still a good bit away, but the local schools are starting to officially announce what their schedules are going to look like next season.

Today, it was St. Joe’s and La Salle unveiling who they are playing outside of the Atlantic 10. Let's take a quick look:

Saint Joseph’s

Phil Martelli will have to face this slate without his two best players from last season, DeAndre’ Bembry and Isaiah Miles. The Hawks’ holiday trip is to the Virgin Islands, where the teams on the other side of the bracket are Creighton, Montana, North Carolina State and Washington State.

St. Joe’s has to go to ‘Nova for the Holy War this year, which is probably for the best because the Wildcats are going to be tough to beat on any floor this year. There don’t appear to be any powerhouses outside of the Wildcats on the schedule, but for a Hawk team that will have to figure out a new identity at the beginning of the season, it seems about right:

 DateOpponent
 Location
Sat. November 12
Toledo
Hagan Arena
 Mon. November 14Columbia
Hagan Arena
Fri. November 18
Loyola-Chicago
St. Thomas, V.I.
Sat./Sun. November 19/20
Ole Miss/Oral Roberts
St. Thomas, V.I.
Mon. November 21 
TBD
St. Thomas, V.I.
 Wed. November 30
Temple
Hagan Arena
 Sat. December 3Villanova
 The Pavilion
Sun. December 11
Drexel
The DAC
 Wed. December 14 PrincetonPrinceton, NJ
Sun. December 18 
Illinois State
Normal, IL
 Wed. December 21 LafayetteHagan Arena
 Sat. January 21Penn
The Palestra


La Salle

It’s nice that La Salle scheduled the ‘Nova game at The Palestra this year, and John Giannini’s team figures to be much improved with a transfer-heavy lineup (B.J. Johnson, Demetrius Henry, and Pookie Powell join the rest of the Explorers). The Explorers will play at the HoopHall Invitational in Miami along with Temple, getting a Georgetown team coming off a disappointing season:

Date
 OpponentLocation
 Fri. November 11Temple
Liacouras Center
Wed. November 16
Delaware
Tom Gola Arena
Sat. November 19
Texas Southern
Tom Gola Arena
Sun. November 27
 DrexelThe DAC
Wed. November 30
 LehighTom Gola Arena
Sat. December 3
 BucknellTom Gola Arena
 Tues. December 6 VillanovaThe Palestra
Sat. December 10
 Georgetown Miami, FL
Sat. December 17 Florida Gulf Coast
Tom Gola Arena
Thurs. December 22
 Mercer Macon, GA
 Wed. January 25Penn
 Tom Gola Arena

Temple

And while we’re at it, Temple announced their non-conference schedule last week. This group of games includes the NIT Season Tip-Off, where the Owls will play a couple of power conference foes in Florida State and either West Virginia or Illinois:

 DateOpponent
Location
Fri. November 11
La Salle
Liacouras Center
 Mon. November 14New Hampshire
Liacouras Center
Thurs. November 17
 Massachusetts Amherst, MA
Sun. November 20
Manhattan
 Liacouras Center
Thurs. November 24
Florida State
Brooklyn, NY
Fri. November 25
West Virginia/Illinois
 Brooklyn, NY
Wed. November 30
Saint Joseph's
 Hagan Arena
Sat. December 3
Penn
Liacouras Center
Wed. December 7
George Washington
Liacouras Center
Sat. December 10
DePaul
 Miami, FL
Tues. December 13:
Villanova
The Pavilion
Sat. December 17
NJIT
Liacouras Center
 Thurs. December 22Yale
Liacouras Center

Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann