GAME NOTES

HAMILTON – The Colgate men's basketball team faces Illinois and Marquette this weekend to kick off its 2012-13 campaign.

The Raiders are in for a tough non-conference schedule as they face additional high-profile competition such as Syracuse and Providence in the coming weeks.

“We believe in playing a strong non-league schedule,” head coach Matt Langel said. "We are grateful for the opportunity to play programs like Illinois and Marquette with their great history and tradition. Playing these games gives our student-athletes a chance to test themselves at the highest level, something that should help our team in many ways moving forward."

This will be the fourth meeting between Colgate and Illinois with the Fighting Illini leading the all-time series 3-0. The last time these programs met was during the 1961-62 season at the Illinois Holiday Tournament in Chicago. The game is set for tonight at 7 p.m. CT at Assembly Hall and can be viewed live online at BTN.com

The Raiders then travel to Wisconsin to face the Golden Eagles of Marquette. The game is set for Sunday at 3:30 pm. CT at the Bradley Center and can be followed live on ESPNU. This is the first all-time meeting between the Raiders and the Golden Eagles.

Colgate returns 11 letterwinners from last year's teams after losing three starters. Among those key loses was Mike Venezia, who led the team in three-pointers made on the season (54). During his senior campaign, Venezia averaged 9.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He was named Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week for his performance against Binghamton, where he scored a season- high 22 points. Colgate also lost its top rebounder in Nick Pascale. He ended his senior season with 4.8 rebounds per game and a total of 144 rebounds on the season.

The Raiders return only two starters from last year's team but will be supported by a wealth of upperclassmen. Of those returning are seniors Mitch Rolls, John Brandenburg and Brandon James, as well as junior Pat Moore. Rolls averaged 8.6 points per game with 49 three-pointers on the season. Moore followed closely with 9.9 points per game with 53 three-pointers.

During the 2011-12 season point guard Rolls moved into fifth all-time with 276 career assists. Rolls enters his senior campaign with 129 3-pointers made ranking him eighth all-time. He also led the team in assists throughout his previous seasons. Last year he grabbed a total of 20 steals making him the top leader in steals.

Colgate is 61-51 (.545) in season openers over its 112 years of basketball. The Raiders are 2-1 in their last three openers on the road including a 78-74 win at Binghamton just a season ago.