No Luck with the Irish, so MU Men’s Basketball to Play Mizzou Instead; UGA and Georgia Tech also Slated Again for 2011-12

MACON, Ga. – Mercer University’s scheduled men’s basketball game at the University of Notre Dame on Monday, November 14, 2011 – a regional game of the CBE Classic tournament - has been cancelled and replaced by a contest at the University of Missouri on the same day. The change was a late decision by the CBE Classic tournament officials.

Playing the Tigers gives Mercer the opportunity to experience what is billed as “one of the more raucous venues on the collegiate basketball scene” in the 15,000-seat Mizzou Arena.

This will be Mercer’s fourth meeting versus Mizzou and all three of the previous games have been in Columbia, Mo., as well. The Bears are 0-3 versus the Tigers on their home floor, with each prior meeting taking place under MU’s then head coach Bill Hodges.

The last time the teams tangled was on December 19, 1996 with Missouri winning, 90-63.  Two years earlier – Dec. 17, 1994 – the Bears dropped a narrow decision, 74-73. The first-ever meeting between the schools on the hardwood came on Dec. 30, 1993, a 78-50 win by Mizzou.

Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman also announced that his team will once again play both Georgia and Georgia Tech this coming season on the road in back-to-back games.  MU travels to Athens to take on UGA on Tuesday, Dec. 20 (2 p.m.).

With the Yellow Jackets home arena undergoing a refurbishment, Tech will host the Bears at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., on Dec. 22 (time TBA).