Men's Basketball | 10/20/2022 12:33:00 PM

October 20, 2022-Emporia State fans can tip–off basketball season with the Hornets and Lady Hornets on Tuesday, October 25 during Late Night at White as part of Homecoming Week festivities at ESU.
 
The doors to White Auditorium will open at 6:00 p.m. with an autograph session set to start at 6:30 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. the lights in the arena will go down and a spot light will help introduce the 2022-23 Hornets and Lady Hornets.
 
After introductions there will be several games on the court including a kid's uniform race, a three-point contest, musical chairs and a dunk contest.   After the games the Emporia State Cheer Squad will perform before the teams take the court for a pair of intra-squad scrimmages.
 
The Lady Hornets and Hornets will combine to play 15 home dates in White Auditorium, the loudest arena in the MIAA, during the 2022-23 season. Purchasing season tickets provide a savings of between $40 and $59 over buying individual game tickets and guarantees a seat in White Auditorium. Last year both the Emporia State men and women finished in the top ten in attendance in the nation with the Lady Hornets ranking fourth and the men seventh out of over 300 NCAA Division II basketball playing schools.
 
The Lady Hornets return three starters from last year's team that went 15-14. It was the 26th consecutive winning season for Emporia State, the longest active streak among women's basketball programs in the MIAA. Emporia State is the only program in NCAA Division II history to lead the nation in attendance (2005), win a national championship (2010), and be honored with the top GPA in the nation (2017) in the WBCA Academic Top 25 list. They will play eight games on the road before their White Auditorium debut on December 17 against Northwest Missouri.
 
The Hornet men went 20-9 last season with a 15-7 record in MIAA play. It was the first 20 win season by Emporia State since 2007 and a school record for wins in MIAA action. The Hornets are returning five of their top nine scorers and six of their top nine rebounders this season. Emporia State was also ranked #1 in the nation among men's basketball teams in community service in the Helper Helper national team rankings. They open the home portion of their season on November 16 against Rockhurst.