WICHITA, Kan.- Wichita State's 2009-10 men's basketball
schedule is highlighted by 18 home games, more than seven nationally televised
games, and a trip to the 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City to
face Pitt and either Texas or Iowa, third-year Wichita State University head
coach Gregg Marshall announced today.
WSU could play three or four 2009 NCAA Tournament opponents
in 2009-10 with Pitt (3-1), Cleveland State (1-1) and Valley-member Northern
Iowa (0-1), while that number could move to four should the Shockers play Texas
(1-1) on the final day of the CBE Classic. (Postseason record is in
parenthesis.)
The Valley schedule also provides two 2009 NIT opponents in
Creighton and Illinois State, which were 1-1 and 0-1, respectively, in the
postseason tournament.
The Shockers open the 104th regular season of Shocker
basketball against Fairleigh Dickinson on ESPNU Nov. 15 in the first round of
the 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic men's college basketball tournament.
The Sprint Center in Kansas City will be the site of the championship rounds
when WSU plays Pitt in a semifinal matchup Nov. 23. National television for the
games in Kansas City will be announced at a later date. Pittsburgh advanced to
the Elite Eight a year ago, while achieving the school's first No. 1 ranking.
The Panthers have won nearly 80-percent of their games over the last five years
including a 31-5 mark last season.
Texas, Pittsburgh, and Iowa join the Shockers as the four
Regional Round hosts for the event. WSU opens the championship rounds in Kansas
City with the Panthers at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 23, while the Iowa and Texas game will
follow. The winners of the semifinals will meet in the championship game on
Tues., Nov. 24, following a 6:45 p.m. consolation game.
“We are ecstatic about the schedule,” Marshall said. “It is
a great mix with plenty of quality home games, and quality games overall. The
BCS teams in the CBE Classic in the exempt tournament on a neutral court in
Kansas City and the Cleveland State return Bracketbusters game on the road are
very challenging. If we do well, we should be rewarded for it."
WSU follows up the CBE Classic with a road trip for the
return visit of the 2009 ESPNU Bracketbusters game, which also could be on
national television, before playing six of seven games at home. A road game at
UMKC Dec. 9 is sandwiched between two three-game homestands which include
back-to-back games against TCU and Texas Tech Dec. 12 and 19.
WSU then opens the Valley schedule Dec. 29 at Illinois State
before playing host to Drake New Year's Day. WSU never plays more than
two-straight home games or two-straight road games throughout the Valley
schedule, while the Shockers play 10 games in January and seven in February,
not including the 2010 ESPNU Bracketbusters game on the road Feb. 19 or 20.
As of now, WSU has one ESPN2 game, five ESPNU games and two
MVC Television games on the FSN network. WSU's final home game of the season
against Southern Illinois is also a potential national television game should
it be chosen as a Valley wildcard television selection.
Dates for the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference
Basketball Tournament are March 4-7, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
In addition, WSU will play host to cross-town Newman
University on Sat., Nov. 7, in the exhibition game.
All dates and times are subject to change. Additional
national television and local television games will be announced at a later
date.
-Wichita
State University-
