LA SALLE OPENS AT ST.JOHN’S NOV. 26, ON NATIONAL TV 5 TIMES

By Harry Allison

La Salle will appear on national television five times as the Atlantic 10 Conference made adjustments to its traditional schedule model to factor in potential interruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Explorers’ lone home non-conference game against Delaware at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday, Dec. 19 will air on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 4:30 p.m. In addition, four Atlantic 10 contests featuring the Explorers will be broadcast by the league’s television partners.

Three road games against UMass (Jan. 9), preseason favorite Richmond (Jan. 23) and VCU (Jan. 30) will air on NBC Sports Network, while a Martin Luther King Day showdown against Big 5 foe Saint Joseph’s is scheduled to be shown on CBS Sports Network.

League play begins early this season, as the Explorers will host the Minutemen on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The game will be the first of the Atlantic 10 season, marking the second straight year La Salle has played the first conference game at home (Dayton). A road trip to defending A-10 champ Dayton closes out the 2020 calendar year on Dec. 30, before back-to-back home games against Fordham (Jan. 2) and Saint Louis (Jan. 6).

La Salle’s schedule also includes home contests against Rhode Island (Jan. 27), Davidson (Feb. 3), George Washington (Feb. 13), Richmond (Feb. 20), and Duquesne (Feb. 27). All of those games will air live on ESPN+, as will road tilts against George Mason (Jan. 13), Saint Joseph’s (Feb. 6), Saint Louis (Feb. 16), St. Bonaventure (Feb. 24) and Fordham (Mar. 3).

The season-ending matchup with the Rams will lead into the 2021 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship, which is officially scheduled to be held for the seventh time at the iconic Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Eleven games will be nationally broadcast. NBCSN will carry the second round and the quarterfinals, March 11-12, and CBS Sports Network will air the semifinal games on March 13. CBS Television Network will broadcast the March 14 final at 1:00 pm ET as part of the network’s overall NCAA Selection Sunday coverage.