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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The first year of the Buzz Williams Era in Blacksburg will feature a trip to Cancun, Mexico and home games against the last four Atlantic Coast Conference champions. Virginia Tech and the ACC announced the composite men’s basketball schedule on Wednesday.

“This year’s schedule will provide many challenges for our young basketball team,” Williams said. “A road game at Penn State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, along with the trip to Cancun will help prepare our team for the rigors of the ACC, which projects to be possibly the best conference in all of collegiate basketball.”

The Hokies will play nine games against teams that competed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, as well as four games against teams from the 2014 NIT. Also highlighted on the schedule are five games against schools from the Commonwealth of Virginia, including four to be played in Cassell Coliseum. This year’s non-conference slate has a decided regional flavor, as, of the nine home non-conference games, three are against teams from Virginia, two against teams from Maryland, two against teams from South Carolina and one game each against schools from North Carolina and Alabama. The lone road non-conference game will be at traditional rival, West Virginia on Dec. 30.

The Hokies will open the 2014-15 schedule on Friday, Nov. 14 against Maryland-Eastern Shore at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum. The game will be the first of three consecutive home games. Liberty will come to Cassell Coliseum on Nov. 19, as part of the Cancun Challenge event, followed by a visit from Appalachian State on Nov. 22.

Tech will travel to Cancun, Mexico to compete in the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya on Nov. 25-26. The Hokies will play Northern Iowa in the semifinal on Tuesday night and either Northwestern or Miami of Ohio on Wednesday night. Both games will be televised nationally on the CBSSports Network.

After the Hokies return from Cancun, the final game of the event will be on Nov. 30, as Morgan State comes to Cassell Coliseum. Following a trip to Penn State on Dec. 3 for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Tech returns to Cassell Coliseum to begin a five-game homestand, which includes a continuation of the New River Valley rivalry with Radford, on Dec. 7, and games against Alabama A&M, The Citadel, long-time rival VMI and Presbyterian, all in the month of December. Tech wraps up the non-conference slate with a trip to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Dec. 30.

The Hokies open the ACC regular season on Saturday, Jan. 3, as they host Syracuse in Cassell Coliseum. Along with the Orange, home opponents include Duke, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, and Boston College, along with the annual match-up with arch-rival Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 25 in Cassell Coliseum. Road foes for the Hokies, in addition to Virginia, are Miami, Florida State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Clemson, Miami and N.C. State. Also on the road for Tech this season is a trip to the Yum Center, on Jan. 13, to face newest ACC rival, Louisville.

“The ACC continues to raise the bar,” Williams said. “With the addition of Louisville to all of the other outstanding programs in the league, this season, the ACC appears to be the most competitive conference in all of college basketball.. Every game will be a challenge and a test.”

The Hokies will have at least 23 games televised and all 18 of the Hokies’ ACC games will be televised this season. All conference games carried on an ESPN network will also be available on WatchESPN. All conference games carried on the ACC Network or a regional sports network will also be available on ESPN3. The ACC Office will update dates and additional television coverage at a later date.

To purchase men’s basketball season tickets for the 2014-15 season, please visit hokietickets.com or call the ticket office at 540-231-6731 or 1-800-VATECH4.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MBBall