Complete 2011 Schedule: PDF | HTML

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Fourteen home dates, including a November visit from the University of Missouri, and a road trip to South Florida for a Thanksgiving Weekend tournament hosted by Miami highlight Eastern Illinois women's basketball's 2010-11 schedule, unveiled by head coach Brady Sallee.

 

The Panthers are slated to host Missouri (Nov. 14), Bradley (Nov. 22), Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 11), Valparaiso (Dec. 30) and SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 3) for nonconference home games. The Missouri game will not only be the home opener but also mark the second time in the last four seasons that a team from a big six power conference travels to Lantz Arena. The Panthers opened their 2008-09 campaign against Illinois at Lantz. The Tigers last visited Charleston in December 1999.

The Bradley game has been earmarked as a kids' day matinee and set for a noon tip off on the Monday prior to Thanksgiving. Students from area schools will be invited to attend with their classmates as groups. Eastern's Nov. 2008 kids' day matinee produced a spirited environment and a victory against SMU.

 

The Panthers are slated to travel to the state of Florida for the first time since Dec. 2003 for the University of Miami's Thanksgiving Weekend tournament in Boca Raton. Eastern is scheduled to take on UNC Greensboro Friday, Nov. 26, followed by a meeting with Miami or Florida Atlantic in the championship or consolation round the following day. All three teams would be first-time opponents.

 

Meanwhile, EIU begins a nonconference series with Valparaiso, hosting the Crusaders on Thursday, Dec. 30. The Panthers have not played Valpo since their final year as a Mid-Continent Conference member in 1995-96.

 

The annual nonconference series also continue with Illinois State (Nov. 18 in Normal), Indiana State (Dec. 8 in Terre Haute) and UIC (Dec. 11 in Charleston). Eastern opens its season at Western Michigan Friday, Nov. 12, the return game after the Broncos visited Lantz last year.

 

The Panthers will also take on SIU Edwardsville twice this season. Both games have been coupled with open dates in EIU's Ohio Valley Conference schedule, on Jan. 6 in Edwardsville and Feb. 3 in Charleston and are followed by Saturday matchups with Southeast Missouri State.

 

This season marks the first for the OVC Tournament's new format, which has all eight qualifying teams advancing to Nashville and all tourney games being played at the Municipal Auditorium. The top two teams in the final standings receive double byes into the semifinals, while the third- and fourth-place teams receive single byes. Teams seeded fifth through eighth would have to win four games in four consecutive days to win the event. The OVC Tournament is set for March 2-5.

 

For the third year in a row, EIU opens conference play against Tennessee State and Austin Peay (Dec. 2-4 in Charleston). But due to a quirk in the OVC schedule, the Panthers don't face those teams again until the final weekend of the regular season (Feb. 24-26). The Tennessee Tech-Jacksonville State road trip is set for the first weekend (Dec. 19-21) after final exams on campus are complete.

 

Eastern's longest homestand of the season features four home dates over two weeks' time. The Panthers will host Tech and JSU the final weekend of January (27-29) and SIUE and SEMO the first weekend of February (3-5).

Conversely, EIU is not scheduled to play more than two consecutive games away from Lantz Arena during the entire regular season.