Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team releases complete 2016-17 schedule

The Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball team released its complete 2016-17 schedule Thursday, and it includes 14 games at the Show Me Center.

"Our young men will get the chance to compete in historic arenas at Illinois and Indiana, and those games give our fan base the freedom to travel and support us," Southeast coach Rick Ray said in a press release.

The Redhawks, who are looking to bounce back from last year’s 5-24 season, feature a 31-game slate, including a non-conference portion that’s highlighted by two matchups against Big Ten opponents and a trip to Las Vegas.

"The Big Ten has led the nation in attendance for 40 straight years, so the atmospheres in those venues are sure to be electric,” Ray said.

Southeast opens its season Nov. 11 at Illinois, marking the third meeting between the two teams. The Redhawks square off against Hannibal-LaGrange in their home opener on Nov. 13 before hitting the road for back-to-back games against Western Illinois (Nov. 16) and Bradley (Nov. 18).

The remainder of Southeast’s non-conference games at the Show Me Center features Texas Rio Grande Valley (Nov. 22), Central Arkansas (Dec. 1), Missouri State (Dec. 7), Northern Kentucky (Dec. 10) and Division II Henderson State (Dec. 29).

The Redhawks will face UMKC on the road Nov. 28 before traveling to take on Indiana on Dec. 4 in a first-ever matchup against a Hoosiers squad that was among the final eight teams in the NCAA Tournament last season.

The Redhawks will play in four games as part of the Las Vegas Classic, squaring off against host Missouri State (Dec. 17) and host DePaul (Dec. 19) before heading west and closing out the tournament on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 in Las Vegas. The field of teams at the Las Vegas Classic includes USC, Troy, Wyoming, Chicago State and Cornell, while games will be played at the 7,500-seat Orleans Arena.

"I am excited to be in the Las Vegas Classic," Ray said. "You always want to provide your players the opportunity to travel and compete in tournaments like this. These types of tournaments also prepare you for the rigors of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.”

Southeast will look to improve on last year’s 2-14 OVC record, beginning its conference schedule against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 31 at the Show Me Center. Games against Tennessee Tech (Jan. 10), SIU Edwardsville (Jan. 19), Eastern Illinois (Jan. 21), Morehead State (Feb. 4), UT Martin (Feb. 18), Murray State (Feb. 23) and defending OVC Tournament champion Austin Peay (Feb. 25) fill out the rest of the Redhawks’ home slate in league play.

Southeast’s first conference road game will be Jan. 5 against Tennessee State. The Redhawks will also take part in conference road games against defending OVC regular-season champion Belmont (Jan. 7), UT Martin (Jan. 14), Murray State (Jan. 26), Austin Peay (Jan. 28), Jacksonville State (Feb. 1), SIUE (Feb. 9) and Eastern Illinois (Feb. 11).

The OVC Tournament takes place March 1-4 at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

"This year's schedule will be challenging, with us having nine new members on our team," Ray said. "But our hope is after the non-conference part of our schedule that we have gained valuable experience which will serve us well once we start conference play in the always tough OVC.”