Saint Joseph's (0-0) vs. #3 Houston (1-0)
Veterans Classic | Friday, November 11 | 6 p.m. | Alumni Hall
CBS Sports Network | Live Stats | Listen Live

 
GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes
Houston: Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Saint Joseph's opens its 2022-23 season against #3 Houston in the opening game of the Veterans Classic on Friday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

• Friday is the Hawks' first appearance in the Veterans Classic, while Saint Joseph's is the fifth Atlantic 10 school to compete in the prestigious event joining VCU (2014), Davidson (2019), George Washington (2020) and Richmond (2021).

• The Hawks and #3 Houston are meeting for the first time.

• Saint Joseph's previously opened its season against a ranked team three times, going 2-1 in those contests. Below are the results from those three previous games

Date | Opponent | Score
11/20/96 | at #10 Duke | L, 89-60
11/14/03 | vs. #10 Gonzaga | W, 73-66
11/23/04 | at #2 Kansas | L, 91-51

• The Hawks are 45-144 all-time versus ranked teams, with their last win coming on February 27, 2018 versus #17 Rhode Island, 78-48.

• Saint Joseph's is 84-27 all-time in season-opening contests.

• Under head coach Billy Lange, the Hawks have gone 2-1 in season openers, including a 69-67 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore in last year's opener.

• Lange previously served as Navy head coach for seven seasons (2004-11), leading seven Mids to All-Patriot League honors, including 2008 Player of the Year and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American honoree Greg Sprink.

• The Hawks are opening their season with a neutral site contest for the second time in three years as St. Joe's opened the 2020-21 season with a 96-91 overtime loss to Auburn at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off.

• Saint Joseph's features a new and youthful lineup this season with six newcomers.

VETERAN CONNECTIONS
A pair of Saint Joseph's players have family ties to the military. Rasheer Fleming's mother, Dana White, served in the Army, while Quin Berger's grandfather, Dan Williams, was a member of the Air Force, and his uncle, Aaron Williams, served in the Army.

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
The Hawks' 2022-23 lineup features five international players - Louis Bleechmore (Sydney, Australia), Christ Essandoko (Paris, France), Anton Jansson (Stockholm, Sweden), Kacper Klaczek (Chorzow, Poland) and Ejike Obinna  (Enugu, Nigeria).