Men's Basketball Set for Season Opener Against Ohio for MAC-SBC Challenge

Monday, November 4

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

Ohio

11/1/2024 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

James Madison Dukes (0-0, 0-0 SBC) vs. Ohio Bobcats (0-0, 0-0 MAC)

Nov. 4, 2024 - 7 p.m.

Harrisonburg, Va. - Atlantic Union Bank Center

Game Info
Television: ESPN+ · Audio Broadcast

DUKES TO OPEN SEASON AT HOME VS. OHIO

James Madison men's basketball is set to open the 2024-25 campaign against Mid-American Conference foe Ohio on Monday, Nov. 4 for he MAC-SBC Challenge. Tipoff inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This will be the head coaching debut of Preston Spradlin, who was hired after a successful six-year run at Morehead State which saw the Eagles win 20 games or more in the past four seasons, including two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Ohio, the preseason favorites in the MAC, finished 2023-24 with a record of 20-13 and 13-5 in MAC play.

JMU HISTORY AGAINST THE MAC

This will be the first time James Madison and Ohio have squared off on the hardwood.
The Dukes have a 14-9 record against Mid-American Conference foes, including a 2-0 mark last season.
JMU snapped Kent State's 23-game home winning streak with a 113-108 win on Nov. 9, 2023, and took down Akron 73-59 in the return game of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Feb. 10.

SUCCESS IN SEASON-OPENERS

JMU has won seven straight season-openers, dating back to a 62-55 setback at Old Dominion on Nov. 11, 2016.
The Dukes have also won six straight home openers, with their last loss in a home debut coming in a 94-70 setback against Rice on Nov. 13, 2016.
Last season, JMU defeated No. 4 Michigan State in East Lansing to open its season, just the second victory over a ranked team in program history for the Dukes.
The win over the Spartans also was the first team to hand an AP preseason top-five team a loss in a home season-opener since 2001.

FRESH FACES, NEW PLACES

James Madison enters the 2024-25 season with only 8.6 percent of its scoring, 8.4 percent of its rebounding, and 11.8 percent of its minutes returning from the 2023-24 roster.
Out of 355 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball teams, The Dukes are one of at least 24 teams in NCAA Division I with at least 12 newcomers.
JMU has 11 incoming transfers - Mark Freeman (Morehead State), Bryce Lindsay (Texas A&M), Eddie Ricks III (Morehead State), Elijah Hutchins-Everett (Seton Hall), Justin Taylor (Syracuse), Matt Hain (Morehead State), Will Lovings-Watts (Northern Illinois), Ebenezer Dowuona (Georgia Tech), Noah Williams (Washington), AJ Smith (Southern Indiana), and Luke Anderson (Florida Southern). Redd Thompson represents JMU's lone true freshman on the 2024-25 roster.

CHAMPIONSHIP DNA

Preston Spradlin was hired as the head coach of James Madison men's basketball on March 29, 2024, and signed a six-year contract with the Dukes.
He spent the previous eight seasons as the head coach of Morehead State, where he accumulated an overall record of 140-109 (.562) in his time with the Eagles.
He guided MSU to its second appearance in the Division I Men's Basketball Championship in 2023-24, their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past four seasons.
In his last four seasons at Morehead State, Spradlin's teams went 94-40 overall and 58-16 in the Ohio Valley Conference. During that stretch, the Eagles have posted 22 or more wins in all four seasons, a first for a Morehead State program that began in 1929.
In 2023-24, Morehead State ranked in the top 10 nationally in several categories. The Eagles were seventh in field goal percentage defense (39.3%), sixth in rebounding margin (8.5/game), and ninth in scoring defense (63.4/game).
The Eagles also ranked 15th in the country in scoring margin (+11.9) and 18th in three-point percentage defense (30.2%).

MAC-SUN BELT CHALLENGE

The MAC-SBC Challenge was formed at the recommendation of the Sun Belt's strategic planning committees for men's and women's basketball.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests is considered in determining the matchups.
The Sun Belt captured the inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge titles on the men's and women's sides, respectively, in 2023-24.
The men's teams compiled 15 wins across the 24 total matchups, including 10 in the February 2024 home contests, while the women's teams also posted 15 wins in the 24 contests, including nine during the November 2023 tilts.

PRESEASON SUN BELT AWARDS

The JMU backcourt tandem of Xavier Brown and Mark Freeman took home Preseason All-Sun Belt honors on Monday, Oct. 14.
The Dukes were picked to finish second in the Preseason Coaches Poll, only trailing Arkansas State. JMU picked up one first-place vote, while the Red Wolves totaled 12.
Freeman, the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year at Morehead State, was named Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt, while Brown was named to the Third Team.
Freeman was joined on the first team by Kobe Julien (Arkansas State), Hosana Kitenge (Louisiana), Nate Martin (Marshall), and Myles Rigsby (Troy).
Julien, a redshirt senior transfer on Arkansas State, was named the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 17.3 points per game for Louisiana in 2023-24.