WILMINGTON, North Carolina - Matchups with four NCAA Tournament teams and a home invitational event during the Thanksgiving holiday highlight the 2012-13 non-conference men's basketball schedule for third-year Head Coach Buzz Peterson and his UNCW Seahawks.

The Seahawks, who went 10-21 overall and 4-7 against non-league opponents one year ago, entertain North Carolina Wesleyan in an exhibition game on Nov. 3 before kicking off the regular season eight days later against UNC Asheville at Trask Coliseum.

The opening date with the two-time Big South Conference champion Bulldogs and veteran coach Eddie Biedenbach launches a schedule that has a distinct regional flavor for Peterson's retooled club.

"We're very pleased with the non-conference schedule," said Peterson, who stands 23-39 in two seasons at UNCW. "We have several good games with regional teams as well as great opportunities against Purdue and Georgia Tech. It's a challenge that our young team is looking forward to facing."

After kicking off the season with the Bulldogs at Trask Coliseum, UNCW visits Richmond, Ohio and Purdue in succession. The Bobcats, who reached the Sweet Sixteen last March, return an experienced team and are expected to make another strong run in 2012-13 behind new skipper Jim Christian. OU won the MAC Tournament, defeated Michigan and South Florida in the NCAA's, and threw a scare into top-seeded UNC Chapel Hill in the regional semifinals before falling, 73-65, in overtime.

The Seahawks are slated to entertain Wofford and Hampton during the Thanksgiving break in "The Classic at Wilmington," a round robin-style tournament. The Terriers and Pirates battle on Friday, Nov. 23 in a neutral site clash, followed by UNCW vs. Wofford on Nov. 24 and UNCW vs. Hampton on Nov. 25. All three games will tip off at 2 p.m. at Trask Coliseum.

In early December, UNCW travels to Atlanta to battle Atlantic Coast Conference member Georgia Tech at the brand new McCamish Pavilion. It will be the UNCW's first visit to the Flats since an 87-68 loss to the Yellow Jackets on Jan. 19, 1995, at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Overall, UNCW has 12 non-conference games against teams from eight different conferences, featuring five at home and seven on the road. The schedule includes first-time clashes with Coker, Purdue and Wofford.

2012-13 UNCW Non-Conference Opponent Capsules

UNC ASHEVILLE
Series Record: 15-8
  About The Bulldogs: Veteran coach Eddie Biedenbach piloted UNCA to a 24-10 mark last year and back-to-back Big South Conference championships ... The Bulldogs led East Regional No. 1 seeded Syracuse with six minutes remaining in last year's NCAA Tournament before the Orange survived, 72-65, before 18,927 fans in Pittsburgh ... UNCA shot 48.2 percent from the floor last season, but lost its top three scorers from one year ago ... Senior forward Jeremy Atkinson (11.7 ppg) and senior guard Jeremy Lane (11.1 ppg) are the team's top returning scorers.

RICHMOND
Series Record: 16-29
  About The Spiders: UofR celebrates its 100th season of men's basketball ... The Spiders went 16-16 overall and 7-9 in the Atlantic-10 Conference in 2011-12, including 11-4 at the Robins Center ... Four seniors will lead the way for Chris Mooney's club ... The Spiders return their top four scorers in Darien Brothers (14.6 ppg), Kendall Anthony (13.0 ppg), Derrick Williams (11.2 ppg) and Cedrick Lindsay (11.2 ppg) ... Brothers led the team in scoring in 16 outings, including the final three games of the campaign.

OHIO
Series Record: 1-3
   About The Bobcats: Ohio, which advanced to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen, is coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history ... The Bobcats set a school record with 29 victories and won multiple games in the NCAA Tournament for only the second time...OU has won a postseason game three straight seasons ... Jim Christian became the 17th coach in OU history when he took over the helm last April ... Christian, the former head coach at Kent State, fashioned the best winning percentage in MAC history before coaching four years at TCU.

PURDUE
Series Record: First meeting
   About The Boilermakers: Purdue returns eight letterwinners from last season's 22-13 squad that advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament ... The Boilermakers have put together six straight 20-win seasons, tying for the longest in program history ... Junior guard Terone Johnson is the team's top returning scorer with 9.2 ppg ... Purdue posted a 22-13 record last season and went 13-4 at Mackey Arena ... Eighth-year head coach Matt Painter has been named Big Ten Conference Coach-of-the-Year three times.

WOFFORD
Series Record: First meeting
   About The Terriers: Wofford fashioned a 19-14 record and advanced to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) last season before falling to host Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center ... The Terriers have reached the postseason three consecutive years and won a pair of Southern Conference championships ... Coach Mike Young graduated five seniors that combined for 82 wins during their careers ... Karl Cochran was selected Southern Conference Freshman-of-the-Year after averaging 11.1 ppg and 4.7 rpg for the Terriers.

HAMPTON
Series Record: 2-1
   About The Pirates: Hampton closed out last season with a 12-21 record ... The Pirates lost MEAC leading scorer Darrion Pellum, who wound up with 1,584 points, the 10th most in program history ... Coach Edward Joyner returns junior center David Bruce, a 6-10, 235-pound center who collected 9.2 ppg and 7.3 rpg for the Pirates ... Hampton forced 498 turnovers one year ago ... The Pirates captured the 2011 MEAC title before finishing eighth last season ... This season's meeting will be the first between the two teams since 1974.

MARSHALL
Series Record: 2-1
   About The Thundering Herd: Coach Tom Herrion's club went 21-14 in all games and 13-4 in Conference USA one year ago ... Marshall finished No. 43 in the final RPI rankings ... The Herd dropped a first-round NIT game on the road to Middle Tennessee in a disappointing end to the season ... The Herd played 16 games against teams ranked in the top-58 of the final RPI ... Junior DeAndre Kane (16.5 ppg) and senior Dennis Tinnon (10.2) are the top two returning scorers for the Herd ... Marshall topped UNCW, 69-64, in game No. 3 last season at Trask Coliseum.

COKER
Series Record: First Meeting
   About The Cobras: The Cobras out of the Carolinas Conference represent the lone NCAA Division II opponent on schedule ... UNCW is one of two D-I opponents for Coker ... Coach Dan Schmotzer's team closed out 2011-12 with a 14-13 mark ... UNCW topped Coker, 54-43, in an exhibition game early in the 2010 campaign ... Six seniors return for Schmotzer, including All-Conference performers Sharod Williams and Andrew Morris ... Coker is playing its final season in the Carolinas Conference before moving over to the South Atlantic Conference in 2013-14.

GEORGIA TECH
Series Record: 0-3
   About The Yellow Jackets: Georgia Tech opens its second season under Brian Gregory ... The Yellow Jackets ended up with an 11-19 record last season, including a 4-12 record in the ACC and a first-round exit in the conference tournament ... Tech finished last in the ACC in free throw accuracy at 66.1 percent ... Georgia Tech has beaten UNCW three times in an average of 11.7 ppg and posted an 87-68 decision in the last meeting in Atlanta on Jan. 19, 1995 ... Gregory will be the third different coach the Seahawks have battled at Tech.

DAVIDSON
Series Record: 5-2
   About The Wildcats: Longtime coach Bob McKillop's squad edged the Seahawks, 70-67, last Nov. 26 at Trask Coliseum ... The Wildcats lost three seniors off last year's team, but return all five starters and the top eight scorers and rebounders from that club ... Louisville trimmed Davidson, 69-62, in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. ... The Wildcats have won 25 or more games four times in the last six seasons ... McKillop has coached in 697 collegiate games - all at Davidson.

UNC GREENSBORO
Series Record: 1-2
   About The Spartans: This game will pit two former UNC Chapel Hill players Buzz Peterson of UNCW and Wes Miller of UNCG ... The Seahawks and Spartans are playing for the first time since 2007-08 ... UNCG won the Southern Conference North Division last season, going 13-19 overall and 10-8 in the SoCon ... The Spartans went 11-11 under Miller, including 10-5 in the conference, after he became interim coach in mid-December ... UNCW will face a familiar opponent in former Delaware standout Kelvin McNeil, who has one year of eligibility remaining after transferring.

CAMPBELL
Series Record: 56-41
   About The Camels: The Seahawks and Camels lock horns in the longest series on record for UNCW...Robbie Laing begins his 10th season in Buies Creek ... The Camels returned to the Big South Conference last season and finished third in the league with a 17-15 overall record and 11-7 conference mark ... Campbell swept two-game series from BSC powers Coastal Carolina and Winthrop ... CU has won 62 games over the last four seasons - the most in a four-year span since the school joined the D-I ranks ... Trey Freeman was named BSC Freshman-of-the-Year.