STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Fans eager to get back into the arena will have plenty of chances to during the 2021-22 Stony Brook men’s basketball season.

A program-record 17 home Seawolves men’s contests will be taking place at Island Federal Arena this season, including a six-game homestand in the middle of December and three of the last four of the regular season being played on the north shore of Long Island.

“We are excited to have a 17-game home schedule as we welcome our incredible fans back to Island Federal Arena,” head coach Geno Ford said. “I know the guys are anxious to get the chance to play in front of packed houses once again. We are all looking forward to welcoming the fans back in person!”

The season will get off to a high-quality start, with Stony Brook opening up at George Mason on November 9, with the 2006 Final Four cinderellas returning third-team all conference guard Jordan Miller and the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Tyler Kolek. After that, Phog Allen Fieldhouse awaits on November 18, with Stony Brook heading to take on Kansas. It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. A trio of local contests will sandwich the Thanksgiving break, with the home opener against Sacred Heart on November 22 and a trip to Fairfield on November 24 coming before the holiday as part of the Stony Brook Classic; Yale awaits the Sunday after in New Haven, Conn.

Spanning 17 days, Stony Brook will host six games at The Island, highlighted by the Battle of Long Island on December 8 and welcoming NEC finalist Bryant three days later. The homestand will finish against Saint Peter’s on December 18 before a trip to Gainesville, Fla., and the Florida Gators on December 22. After the Christmas holiday, the Seawolves face one final non-conference tuneup against Farmingdale State on December 29.

“We will have our hands full in November and December as we get ready for league play,” Ford said. “Six of our 13 non conference opponents are picked to win their leagues, along with a national title favorite in Kansas and a top 20 team in Florida so it will be a challenging start.”

The league schedule opens with a bang, as the Seawolves trek to defending conference champion Hartford on January 2 and will host the defending regular season champions, UMBC, on January 5. Maine comes after on January 8, and then the league’s second-best team a year ago, Vermont, welcomes Stony Brook to Burlington for a January 12 matchup. 

After a home contest with New Hampshire on January 15, back to back SUNY rivals are on the travel agenda with Binghamton (January 19) and UAlbany (January 22) up next. Stony Brook then plays its return contests with Vermont (January 26 at Island Federal Arena) and New Hampshire (January 29 in Durham, N.H.) and Binghamton (February 2 at home) before its first matchup of the year with NJIT on February 5 in Newark.

UMass Lowell also awaits for the first time on February 9 then, after a road trip to Maine (February 13) and UMBC (February 16), the Seawolves will host three of their last four conference opponents with Hartford (February 19), UAlbany (February 26) and NJIT (March 1) all coming to The Island to close out the season. A trip to UMass Lowell on February 23 splits those up.

Stony Brook returns third-team all-conference guard Juan Felix Rodriguez this season, as well as brings in a host of talent that compiled the most career points of any incoming transfer class in the country as Jahlil Jenkins (FDU), Anthony Roberts (St. Bonaventure), Elijah Olaniyi (Miami) and Tanahj Pettway (Indian River) descend on Seawolves Country.