HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's basketball team has announced its 2018-19 schedule. In addition to the Fords' 25 game regular season schedule – which features 11 home contests – the team will also travel abroad during the College's week of fall break with a trip to Ireland that will span October 12-19 to kick off the season.
After that trip to Ireland, which is the team's first journey abroad since 2012 when the Fords' visited Belgium, the regular season tips off on Saturday, November 10 at Rutgers-Camden. Haverford is 6-1 all-time against RUC. The home opener is set for Wednesday, November 14 when Penn State Brandywine comes to Gooding Arena. These teams are meeting for the second straight season after Haverford won a 93-80 contest in the first-ever meeting between the programs last winter. A new team to this year's schedule, despite just 2.5 miles between the schools is Rosemont.
Other non-conference dates on the slate include trips to Delaware Valley (Nov. 26), Bryn Athyn (Dec. 13), and the Lycoming Tournament (Jan. 4-5). Haverford will be playing Delaware Valley for the first time since the 1984 season when the Fords resume a series in which they hold a 9-7 advantage dating back to 1956. The Fords will meet Bryn Athyn for the third straight season after winning last year's matchup by a 72-58 margin.
The schedule for the Lycoming Tournament has not been set. In addition to the MAC Commonwealth runner-up hosts, reigning MAC Freedom Champion Misericordia, and Penn State Abington are also in the field. Haverford has never met either Lycoming or Penn State Abington. Misericordia and the Fords have split the first four meetings in program history with the last meeting coming in 2015.
Centennial Conference Play opens for the Fords in the fourth game of the season with a trip to Ursinus on November 20. The home conference opener is slated just nine days later as Muhlenberg visits Gooding Arena. Highlighting Haverford's Centennial Conference success last year was the team's first sweep of McDaniel since the 2011-12 campaign. The Green Terror come to Haverford on January 10 while the Fords make the trip to Westminster on February 9. Haverford had also won six straight against Washington College before splitting the season matchups last year. Haverford heads to Chestertown on December 8 and hosts the Shoremen on January 16 as part of the team's second three game homestand during the season.
With many rivalries in the conference dating back to the program's earliest days in the 1910s, the Fords have played three of their Centennial Conference peers over 100 times in program history. The most notable on that list is Swarthmore as those teams have played 175 times prior entering this year. Hood Trophy points will be up for grabs when the Fords travel to face the NCAA Tournament qualifying Garnet on January 24 before the home finale on February 13.
Defending conference champion Johns Hopkins has met the Fords 112 times heading into this season. Haverford hosts the Blue Jays on January 12 and closes the regular season with a trip to Baltimore on February 16. Haverford has also played Ursinus 154 times in school history with Franklin & Marshall (96 meetings to date) and Washington College (93 all-time games) set to join that group in the coming years. The Diplomats made it three Centennial Conference schools that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
Men's basketball won its most games since the 2013-14 season during head coach Patrick Doherty's first season at the helm. Heading into Doherty's second season leading the Fords, the team appears poised to reach greater heights this season with the top eight scorers from last year's squad all back for at least one more season.