BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb University men's basketball announced its 2018-2019 non-conference schedule Thursday, with 15 games set in November and December.

The Runnin' Bulldogs will play away from home in each of its first eight contests, although several of those games are within comfortable driving distance from campus.

GWU will open on Tuesday, November 6 at VCU in Richmond, Va., and will head back north on Friday, November 9 to battle Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. 

Road trips to Furman (Nov. 13) and Savannah State (Nov. 16) follow, before head coach Tim Craft brings his team back to North Carolina for the 2018 visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle in the Blue Ridge Tournament in Asheville, N.C.

Gardner-Webb will play Eastern Illinois (Nov. 23), UNC Wilmington (Nov. 24) and Arkansas State (Nov. 25) in that event.

A previously scheduled non-conference game at USC Upstate will be honored by the 'Dogs on November 28. The two teams will meet later in the year in Big South Conference play, with the league slate to be announced at a later date.

The home opener is set for December 1, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will host Savannah State in the second half of this season's home-and-home series. The two squads last met in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 2011.

That game is the first of a four-game homestand, with games to follow against Bob Jones (Dec. 6), Johnson & Wales (Dec. 8) and Kennesaw State (Dec. 13) in Paul Porter Arena.

Games at ACC members Georgia Tech (Dec. 17) and Wake Forest (Dec. 29) close out the non-conference road slate. A home game against nearby Brevard College (Dec. 19) is the final non-conference tilt in Paul Porter Arena.

Home games against Savannah State and Kennesaw State will stream live on ESPN+ as part of the Big South's package of games. Other television dates are to be determined.