EVANSVILLE, Ind. — After months of anticipation, the University of Southern Indiana revealed its men's basketball schedule Friday for the program's first season in Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Screaming Eagles will play 13 non-conference contests, including two home games against Missouri Valley Conference foes, two road trips to power-conference schools and three others against non-D1 opponents. USI will then play 18 OVC games, facing each at home and away.
Let's take a closer look at each non-conference opponent in chronological order.
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Midway University (exhibition)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 2
Location: Screaming Eagles Arena
2021-22 record: 16-10
The Screaming Eagles will play one home exhibition game before the regular season. Midway University, located in Kentucky, is an NAIA program that is a member of the River States Conference. Midway played a pair of D-I teams a year ago, making trips to Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky.
Missouri
Date: Monday, Nov. 7
Location: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
Last year: 12-21, KenPom 137 (out of 358)
USI will have an immediate test against a Southeastern Conference opponent on opening night. This isn't the Eagles' first battle against an SEC team — USI faced Auburn in an exhibition last season and also playedTennessee in recent years.The Tigers will be under the guidance of new head coach Dennis Gates, formerly at Cleveland State. While it was a tough season for Mizzou, the Tigers have landed several newcomers, including Missouri State transfer and MVC Player of the Year Isiaih Mosley.
Southern Illinois
Date: Sunday, Nov. 13, 3 p.m.
Location: Screaming Eagles Arena
Last year: 16-15, KenPom 125
USI's first home game against a D-I opponent will take place against an MVC foe. This will be one of two times the Salukis travel to Evansville this season as they also kick off conference play at Ford Center against the Aces on Nov. 30. SIU has one major tie to the West Side: Former USI head coach Rodney Watson was a longtime assistant at Southern Illinois and is now a member of the Salukis' broadcast team in his post-coaching career. SIU also features UE transfer Jawaun Newton.
Notre Dame
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m.
Location: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend, Indiana
Last year: 24-11, KenPom 38
Two opponents from power conferences in the first two weeks? Talk about an immediate challenge. This is the first of three games USI will play as part of the Gotham Classic, although all will be at campus sites. The Fighting Irish were a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season and advanced to the Round of 32. Notre Dame is one of four in-state D-I non-conference opponents USI will face this season.
Loras College (D-III)
Date: Friday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
Location: Screaming Eagles Arena
Last year: 18-9
The first of three non-Division I regular season games USI will play at home. The Duhawks are a D-III program that competes in the American Rivers Conference. USI assistant coach Jon Aldridge was previously on staff at Loras and guided them to a D-III Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2019. The Eagles defeated Loras 85-56 at home last season.
St. Bonaventure
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.
Location: Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure, New York
Last year: 23-10, KenPom 78
Another tough road contest in the second game of the Gotham Classic. The Bonnies were a semifinalist in the NIT a year ago and have been a perennially strong program in the Atlantic 10. They've made the NCAA Tournament twice in the past five years and last had a losing season in 2012-13. The Bonnies will have a different-looking roster, highlighted by Daryl Banks III, who was a starter during Saint Peter's surprise run during last year's NCAA Tournament.
Bowling Green
Date: Saturday, Nov. 26
Location: Stroh Center, Bowling Green, Ohio
Last year: 13-18, KenPom 284
The third and final game of the Gotham Classic is another true road game. The Falcons have been up and down the Mid-American Conference standings in recent years. They finished near the bottom last season but had notched three consecutive winning seasons prior to that. One current USI player who is familiar with Bowling Green is sophom*ore guard Jeremiah Hernandez. He played against the Falcons twice last year while at MAC rival Kent State.
Western Illinois
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Western Hall, Macomb, Illinois
Last year: 16-16, KenPom 250
This contest begins a two-game road trip to Illinois. The Leathernecks, a member of the Summit League, finished with a .500 record and accepted a bid to play in the Basketball Classic postseason tournament. Western Illinois went 2-0 against the OVC a year ago, defeating UT-Martin and Eastern Illinois.
Chicago State
Date: Sunday, Dec. 4, 1 p.m.
Location: Emil & Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center, Chicago, Illinois
Last year: 7-25, KenPom 340
The road-heavy schedule sees USI make a trip to the Windy City to begin December. The Cougars had one of the worst records in Division I last season and have not completed a winning season since 2008-09. The Cougars did go 2-0 against the OVC, however, defeating Tennessee State and SIU-Edwardsville. They are competing as an independent after being a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
Anderson University (D-III)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.
Location: Screaming Eagles Arena
Last year: 16-10
Another non-Division I home game. The Ravens are a member of D-III and the Heartland Conference. Anderson played one D-I school a year ago, IUPUI, and lost 74-60. This is the second meeting all-time between these two with USI winning the only other matchup in 2004.
Indiana State
Date: Sunday, Dec. 11, 3 p.m.
Location: Screaming Eagles Arena
Last year: 11-20, KenPom 230
Once upon a time, USI was a satellite campus for Indiana State University. Now, the two will meet in a D-I basketball game — one of just two in the non-conference slate, coincidentally both against MVC schools. Two current USI players, Nick Hittle and Sam Mervis, were Sycamores last season. Indiana State will make two trips to Evansville this winter when they later play the Aces across town at Ford Center.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (NAIA)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.
Location: Screaming Eagles Arena
Last year: 3-26
The final home non-conference game for USI will take place against an NAIA opponent. The Pomeroys are a member of the River States Conference. USI is one of three D-I opponents on SWMC's schedule along with Eastern Illinois and Miami (Ohio). This is the first meeting between the two programs.
IUPUI
Date: Monday, Dec. 19, 3:15 p.m.
Location: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Last year: 3-26, KenPom 358
This is the first of two games USI will play in the Indiana Classic, an inaugural two-day event that will allow the Eagles to face two in-state opponents. It's also the only true neutral game the Eagles will play in the regular season. IUPUI's woes were well-documented last season as the Jaguars finished last in KenPom's rankings, won just one D-I game and struggled so badly with roster numbers it was actively seeking students to join the team. Back when IUPUI was a D-II school, it played USI frequently and the Eagles won 12 of 17 meetings.
Purdue-Fort Wayne
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 6 p.m.
Location: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Last year: 21-12, KenPom 237
USI's other game in the Indiana Classic is the final non-conference contest. USI is plenty familiar with Purdue-Fort Wayne, known as IPFW when they were both in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Eagles hold a 25-13 advantage in the all-time series. The Mastodons are coming off their first 20-win season since 2016 and went 2-1 against OVC teams.
Ohio Valley Conference play begins
USI will play18 round-robin conference games against each OVC foe, both home and away. The schedule will resemble the GLVC with a typical Thursday and Saturday routine.
- Dec. 29 — Southeast Missouri State, 7:30 p.m.
- Dec. 31 — @ Eastern Illinois, 3:30 p.m.
- Jan. 5 — @ Morehead State, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 7 — vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 12 — vs. Little Rock, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 14 — vs. Tennessee-Martin, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 19 — @ Lindenwood, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 21 — @ SIUE, 3:30 p.m.
- Jan. 26 — vs. Eastern Illinois, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 28 — @ UT-Martin, 3:30 p.m.
- Feb. 2 — vs. Tennessee State, 7:30 p.m.
- Feb. 4 — vs. Morehead State, 3:30 p.m.
- Feb. 9 — @ Tennessee Tech, 7:30 p.m.
- Feb. 11 — vs. Lindenwood, 7:30 p.m.
- Feb. 16 — @ Little Rock, 7:30 p.m.
- Feb. 18 — @ SEMO, 4 p.m.
- Feb. 23 — vs. Tennessee Tech, 7:30 p.m.
- Feb. 25 — @ Tennessee State
Contact Courier & Press sports reporter Hendrix Magley via email at hendrix.magley@courierpress.com or via Twitter @TweetsOfHendrix.
