2012-13 Schedule  |  PDF of 2012-13 Schedule  |

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men's basketball will face nine teams that reached post-season play last year as new head coach Jay Spoonhour released the Panthers 2012-13 schedule.  Included in that schedule are 14 regular season home games and an exhibition game against Trinity International on Monday, Nov. 5.

EIU's non-conference schedule consists of home games with Rochester College, Houston Baptist, Central Arkansas, Western Illinois and Toledo.  EIU's non-conference road schedule includes a tournament at Eastern Michigan and games at Bradley, Stony Brook, Saint Louis, Drake and Chicago State.  EIU will also play a road game in the ESPNU Sears Bracketbuster series.

“Like every school, we are trying to get as many quality home games as we can for our season ticket holders,” said Spoonhour.  “I think the WIU series is a very good one for both of our schools.”

Belmont, Murray State and Saint Louis all played in the NCAA Tournament last season.  Stony Brook played in the NIT.  Drake, Toledo, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Western Illinois played in the CIT and CBI Tournaments.

“The Saint Louis game right before Christmas could be a really fun trip for our fans, although there won't be anything fun about the game itself,” said Spoonhour.  “SLU will probably start the season in the Top 20.”

This season the OVC will split into two divisions with the addition of Belmont to the league.  EIU's division will include Austin Peay, Murray State, SIU Edwardsville, Southeast Missouri and UT Martin.  The Panthers will play home-and-home games against each of those schools.  The other division includes Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.  EIU will host Belmont, JSU and TTU.  The Panthers play at EKU, MSU and TSU.

“The addition of Belmont to the league, for all intents and purposes, makes the OVC twice as tough a conference as it was last year,” Spoonhour said.  “I think folks know how tough a conference we have and trust me, Belmont will only strengthen it.”

The regular season will open at Bradley as the Panthers face the Braves for the second time in three seasons.  The regular season home opener is against Wright State on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

EIU then plays at the Eastern Michigan Tournament Nov. 16-18.  The tournament includes host EMU, IPFW and Texas Pan American.

EIU then returns home for three straight games at Lantz Arena.  EIU will offer a free game for fans on Wednesday, Nov. 21 when they host Rochester College at 1 p.m. for a fan appreciation day.  That game is followed by a visit by Houston Baptist on Nov. 24 and Central Arkansas on Nov. 28.

The Panthers play at America East regular season champion Stony Brook on Dec. 1.  EIU knocked off SBU in Lantz Arena last year.

EIU then returns home to host in-state rival Western Illinois on Dec. 5.  The Panthers host Toledo on Dec. 8.  Prior to Christmas break EIU plays at Saint Louis and Drake on Dec. 19 and 22. 

Ohio Valley Conference play opens with three games on the road at Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.  The Panthers play at TSU on Dec. 29.  EIU kicks off the new year at EKU and MSU on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5.

The home OVC opener is Jan. 10 against Tennessee Tech followed a Jan. 12 visit by Jacksonville State.  EIU visits OVC defending champion Murray State on Jan. 17 and Austin Peay on Jan. 19.

EIU returns home to host UT Martin on Jan. 24 and Southeast Missouri on Jan. 26.  The February schedule starts with three road games at SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 2), UTM (Feb. 7) and SEMO (Feb. 9).

EIU closes the regular season with four out of six games at home with Austin Peay (Feb. 14), Murray State (Feb. 16) and Belmont (Feb. 21) opening that stretch.  The Panthers play a road game for ESPNU Bracketbuster on Feb. 23 and at Chicago State on Feb. 26.  The regular season closes at Lantz Arena against SIUE on March 2.

The OVC Tournament returns to Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., on March 6-9.  The two division champions plus the next six best teams based on league record will advance to play in this year's event.

Season tickets will be on sale in the coming weeks with single game tickets on sale on Nov. 1.