By Todd Golden
TERRE HAUTE — Pardon Indiana State’s men’s basketball dust. The team has a schedule, but it’s still being worked on.
Indiana State announced a tentative men’s basketball schedule on Tuesday. The original announcement was to be last Friday, when several other Missouri Valley Conference schools announced their schedules, but ISU said in a statement that the league wanted them to wait until Tuesday.
It is, as an ISU’s press release calls it, “a highly tentative schedule.”
Missing are one exhibition contest and one more regular season game. ISU coach Kevin McKenna said he expects the final part of the nonconference schedule to be hammered out by week’s end.
Also missing are final dates for three MVC games. The reason being that the league still needs to sort out its television obligations.
There weren’t any big surprises on the tentative version of the schedule. While there is no in-state Big Ten school on the schedule for the first time since 2004, from top to bottom, it’s one of the most balanced schedules the Sycamores have had in some time.
“I think it’s a competitive schedule, something a school like ours needs,” McKenna said. “I think a nonconference schedule like the one we have can help us get to where we want to be in the conference.”
On Nov. 16, ISU takes part in the marquee portion of its nonconference slate, as it heads to Louisiana State for the Preseason NIT. ISU will play LSU first and have three additional games at two sites over two weeks contingent on how the Sycamores fare in the tournament.
Sandwiched in the middle of the NIT is ISU’s first Missouri Valley Conference-Mountain West Conference challenge opponent as Colorado State visits Hulman Center on Nov. 20.
The remaining six nonconference games are highlighted by a return of long-time rival Ball State. The Cardinals visit Hulman Center on Dec. 9, re-starting a series that was interrupted last season.
“I think everybody involved, including coach [Billy] Taylor at Ball State, wanted it to happen [last year], but you were dealing with new coaching staffs and we couldn’t find the right date. I think coach Taylor and I both realized how important it is to our fan bases to play that game and we got it back,” McKenna said. “I’d like nothing more than to play as many in-state opponents as we can. I’d like Butler, Indiana, Purdue, we just get can’t them on there every year.”
ISU also plays host to regular NCAA Tournament qualifier Oral Roberts (Dec. 13) and IUPUI (Dec. 23). The Sycamores travel to Arkansas State (Nov. 29), Toledo (Dec. 19) and will play on the road in the ESPNU BracketBusters field on Feb. 19 or Feb. 20.
For the first time in several years, ISU’s MVC slate does not include a spate of road games inconsistent with the rest of the conference.
The Sycamores begin Valley action at Southern Illinois on Dec. 29, the first of three road games out of four to start the conference slate. ISU has one other three road games-in-four swing later in the season.
However, every other conference school has at least one similar swing and several have more than one.
ISU begins its home conference slate with a game that’s become a tradition of sorts. Creighton visits on Jan. 1. The Bluejays have played at Hulman Center around New Year’s Day for three years running.
“That’s the only thing that jumps out me as far as the conference schedule, playing three road games in four. Plus, the home game is against the conference co-champions [Creighton], so that’s a tough start,” McKenna said.
“But if you look at it impartially, we can get off to a real good start if we play well in that stretch. Last year, we complained about playing four road games in five, but we came out of it OK. It is what it is, all we can do is go for it,” he added.
ISU’s confirmed exhibition game brings a familiar face back to Hulman Center. Former ISU assistant and current University of Indianapolis head coach Stan Gouard brings the Greyhounds to Hulman Center on Nov. 7.
Times for the games will be announced at a later date.
2009-10 tentative men’s basketball schedule
Saturday, Nov. 7 Indianapolis (exhibition)
Preseason NIT at LSU
Monday, Nov. 16 at LSU
Tuesday, Nov. 17 WKU
or Milwaukee
Friday, Nov. 20 Colorado State
Preseason NIT (site TBA)
Mon-Tues., Nov. 23-24 consolation round at campus sites
Wednesday, Nov. 25 NIT semifinals in New York
Friday, Nov. 27 NIT championship in New York
Sunday, Nov. 29 at Arkansas State
Wednesday, Dec. 9 Ball State
Sunday, Dec. 13 Oral Roberts+
Saturday, Dec. 19 at Toledo+
Wednesday, Dec. 23 IUPUI
Tuesday, Dec. 29 at Southern Illinois*
Friday, Jan. 1 Creighton*
Sunday, Jan. 3 at Drake*
Wednesday, Jan. 6 at Bradley*
Sunday, Jan. 10 Evansville*
Wednesday, Jan. 13 Wichita State*
Saturday, Jan. 16 at Northern Iowa*
Tuesday, Jan. 19 at Missouri State*
Sat.-Sun., Jan. 23-24 Northern Iowa*
Thursday, Jan. 28 Southern Illinois*
Sunday, Jan. 31 at Evansville*
Wednesday, Feb. 3 Illinois State*
Saturday, Feb. 6 at Wichita State*
Tues.-Wed., Feb. 9-10 at Creighton*
Sat.-Sun., Feb. 12-13 Drake*
Tuesday, Feb. 16 Bradley*
Fri.- Sat., Feb. 19-20 at BracketBusters TBA
Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Illinois State*
Saturday, Feb. 27 Missouri State*
Thurs-Sun., March 4-7 MVC tourney at St. Louis
