NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport opens the 2017-2018 men's basketball season Wednesday night, as the Captains travel to Ashland to take on the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. at Crenshaw Gymnasium.
John Krikorian's squad is picked 14th in the country in the pre-season poll from D3hoops.com, and Tuesday the Captains learned they are the top pick in the Capital Athletic Conference's pre-season poll of coaches. CNU is the two-time defending champion of the CAC, and advanced to the Sweet 16 last year after the program's first Final Four appearance two seasons ago.
CLICK HERE FOR CAC POLL RELEASE AND VIDEO
The Captains edged out York for the top spot by just one vote, and the Captains received six first-place votes to York's four. Mary Washington and Salisbury tied for third in the poll. St. Mary's, Wesley and Marymount follow in the middle of the pack with Penn State-Harrisburg, Southern Virginia and Frostburg State rounding out the coaches pre-season picks.
Christopher Newport is coming off a 27-3 season, and the Captains have posted an overall record of 57-5 over the last two campaigns. The Captains will be led by seniors
Marcus Carter and
Aaron McFarland, who have both earned multiple all-CAC honors in their first three seasons at CNU. In all, Christopher Newport returns ten players from last year's team and the Captains have added six freshmen to complete the 2017-2018 roster.
Krikorian, who is beginning his eighth season on the CNU bench, has compiled an overall record of 159-42 for a winning percentage of .791. He has been named the CAC's Coach of the Year the last two seasons, and now has an overall coaching mark of 224-84 (.727).
CNU's teams of late have prided themselves on stingy defense, and last year the Captains allowed just 56.8 points per game, and held opponents to just 35 percent field goal shooting. The Captains held 20 of their 30 opponents last year to 60 points or less.
Wednesday night's opener will also be the first game of the season for Randolph-Macon. The Yellow Jackets were 17-9 last year, and are picked to finish second this season in the pre-season poll of coaches in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Josh Merkel begins his third season leading the Yellow Jackets, and has compiled a 30-23 record over his first two seasons in Ashland. The game will be the 27th meeting all time of the schools, and the Captains have won the last five in the series. Randolph-Macon leads the all-time series, 18-8.
The game will be broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show beginning at 7:40 p.m.
CLICK HERE FOR CNU GAME NOTES
