SIUE Men's Basketball Schedule Released

"We are excited to release our 2020-21 schedule," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "The process to adjust and organize with the amount of variables was definitely unique this season and our 'Find A Way' mentality helped us finalize our schedule."

SIUE opens the season in a multi-team event at Youngstown State where the Cougars will face host Youngstown State (Nov. 27), Eastern Michigan (Nov. 28) and NAIA-foe Carlow (Nov. 29).

Other road nonconference matchups include at Northern Illinois (Dec. 2), at Valparaiso (Dec. 9) and at Northwestern (Nov. 13). The only home contest outside of OVC play comes against Omaha (Dec. 5).

"Our team is looking forward to competing against quality opponents." Barone added. "We feel that our nonconference schedule will help us prepare for our opponents in the OVC. We look forward to taking another step towards building a championship program."
With an additional two games, the Cougars and the OVC will play 20 league games during the 2020-21 season.

SIUE will open the OVC slate with a pair of games before the new year. The schedule begins with a trip to Morehead State (Dec. 18) and a home contest against Eastern Illinois (Dec. 21). Five home games in January include Jacksonville State (Jan. 2), Austin Peay (Jan. 7), Murray State (Jan. 9), Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 14) and Morehead State (Jan. 16). The Cougars will play host to Tennessee State (Feb. 4), Belmont (Feb. 6), UT Martin (Feb. 25) and Southeast Missouri (Feb. 27).

Other road contests for the Cougars include playing at Eastern Illinois (Jan. 5), at Tennessee State (Jan. 21), at Belmont (Jan. 23), at Southeast Missouri (Jan. 28), at UT Martin (Jan. 30), at Tennessee Tech (Feb. 11), at Jacksonville State (Feb. 13), at Austin Peay (Feb. 18) and at Murray State (Feb. 20).

"Our athletics directors explored a number of scheduling options designed to address the scheduling challenges we may face due to the pandemic," said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. "Ultimately, they decided to adopt schedules that increase the opportunity for conference competition while staying true to our traditional conference scheduling structure and pattern."

The 2021 OVC Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 3-6 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the fourth year in a row the event will be held at the venue.