Barnes Announces Full 2022-23 Men’s Basketball Schedule

Tickets are now on sale via GoRunners.com/Tickets

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Heading into his 12th season at the helm of the Cal State Bakersfield men's basketball team, Head Coach Rod Barnes has put together another challenging schedule to test his squad before a grueling Big West slate. On Wednesday morning, Barnes released the Roadrunners' official 2022-23 schedule in its entirety as the team continues to prepare for the season ahead.

After CSUB's Big West schedule was announced in June, Barnes continued to negotiate a challenging non-conference slate that would prepare his `Runners for a run at the Big West title. Following the Oct. 25 annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage, an action-packed evening filled with high-flying basketball as well as prizes and giveaways for fans, CSUB will host an Education Day exhibition against the University of Antelope Valley on Nov. 3.

Non-Conference Schedule

Bakersfield's 2022-23 season will officially kick off on Nov. 7 when the `Runner host San Diego Christian in the Icardo Center. After that, Barnes has his team headed out on the road for six of the next seven games with tough opponents lined up.

CSUB will open the road portion of its schedule Nov. 11 on the Pac-12 Networks against Utah. The `Runners will then travel to play Idaho before competing against three strong squads, Nov. 22-25, at UTEP's Golden Turkey Classic. The tournament's lineup features a pair of 20+ win teams from a year ago and an NCAA Tournament participant in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

After a quick stop at home to host La Sierra University on Nov. 29, Barnes and the `Runners will close out the road portion of their non-conference schedule at Dartmouth (Dec. 3) and San José State (Dec. 6).

"This schedule was really made to make sure that, once we got to conference play, we would be prepared and ready," Barnes said. "We're playing some really tough teams. We're throwing our young, inexperienced team into the fire. But I think with the character this team has, I think we will come through much better and battled tested."

Home Game Highlights

CSUB will then host two final non-conference games featuring a pair of familiar foes. On Dec. 17, Abilene Christian, who the `Runners battled on the road a year ago, will return the favor with a trip to Bakersfield. Three days later, CSUB's cross-valley rival Fresno State will make its first bus ride to Bakersfield since 2016.

Barnes stressed the importance for both his team and the Bakersfield community to bring high-caliber opponents to the Icardo Center: "When we came to The Big West I knew we needed to really beef up our home schedule. Also, coming out of COVID, it was important to me to try to get our fans back here. We tried to bring in great competition."

"Both of those teams," Barnes continued, "have had great seasons and the last couple of years both teams have played really well. It will be tough for us, but it'll be a great brand of basketball and really competitive games. It will be a great experience for everyone who comes out and watches us play these teams."

The Big West

Just before the New Year, Bakersfield will kick off Big West play with 20 games lined up over a 10-week span. CSUB's first league game at home is slated for Dec. 31 when UC Irvine comes to Kern County.

"Night in and night out, it's a battle," Barnes said heading into his third go-around in The Big West. "It's going to be great competition every night. There's great coaches and there's obviously great players in this league. Probably the biggest thing I've learned is that there's nowhere to take a break; there's so much parity in this league, so you have to build your team for that to have success in this league."

CSUB will wrap up Big West play with Senior Night on Feb. 25 followed by two final regular season games, Mar. 2 and 4, on the road. All of this will lead the `Runners to Henderson, Nev., Mar. 7-11, for the Big West Championship and a chance to punch their ticket to March Madness.

Tickets Information

In tandem with the schedule release, CSUB has gone live with season ticket, single-game ticket, and group ticket sales for all games except Nov. 3 Antelope Valley (Education Day).

Potential returning season ticket holders, those who had season tickets during the 2021-22 season, should contact the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office at (661) 654-BLUE or tickets@csub.edu as soon as possible. The 2022-23 renewal period ended on September 30th and seats will remain on hold for only a short while longer.

For potential new season ticket holders, Bleacher General Admission season tickets start as low as $140 per seat and are available here. A limited number of Outer Plaza reserved chairback seating is also available at that link. Individuals interested in Inner Plaza reserved chairback seating may place down a season ticket deposit here (a limited number will be available). Floor Sideline and Floor Baseline seating is sold out.

Group ticket information can be found here for purchases of 12+ tickets to games. Single-game ticket purchases can be made by through the "Tickets" link listed for each game on the men's basketball schedule page. If you have interest in or questions about tickets and would like the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office to reach out to you directly, please fill out this form.

~GoRunners.com~

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Barnes Announces Full 2022-23 Men’s Basketball Schedule

Tickets are now on sale via GoRunners.com/Tickets