Basketball Govs schedule to include five new opponents in 2015-16

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team will play a 2015-16 basketball schedule that will touch multiple regions of the country, including 13 non-conference Division I games against teams representing nine different conferences.

That was announced Wednesday by Governors head coach Dave Loos.

“The unique thing with this schedule is we are playing teams from nine different conferences around the country this season,” APSU coach Dave Loos said. “And we are playing several of them for the first time.”

In fact, this season’s APSU 31-game regular-season schedule will see the Governors play five opponents for the first time: IP-Fort Wayne, a member of the Summit Conference, Nov. 18, in Clarksville and Dec. 12 in Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Northern Colorado, a member of Big Sky Conference, or Maryland-Baltimore County, a member of America East, Nov. 22; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a member of Southland Conference, in Corpus Christi, Dec. 2, and in Clarksville, Dec. 28, and Wofford, a member of the Southern Conference, Dec. 22.

After two early November exhibition games, the Governors will open in earnest against Southeast Conference foe Vanderbilt, Nov. 13, in Nashville. Three nights later the Governors then will head to one of nation’s legendary programs, Indiana, in a Nov. 16 contest in Bloomington, Ind. Those two games are part of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Govs will complete their portion of the tournament during regional play against Cal Poly out west in Greeley, Colo., Nov. 21 before facing either battling either host Northern Colorado Maryland-Baltimore County the next night.

In between the two sets of Maui Invitational contests the Govs will face IP-Ft. Wayne for the first time, Nov. 18, in Clarksville. APSU’s next two games will follow the trip to Colorado. The Govs will play host to Oakland City, Nov. 25, in Clarksville, before concluding Thanksgiving Weekend with a home contest against Samford, a Southern Conference member, Saturday, Nov. 28.

APSU then will not be home against until Tuesday, Dec. 22, when they play host to Wofford, which went 28-7 in 2014-15 and played in the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Southern Conference tourney. In between, APSU will travel southwest to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Dec. 2; return last season’s contest by heading south into Alabama to play Troy, a Sun Belt member, Dec. 5; go to Ft. Wayne, Ind., Dec. 12, to battle IP-Ft. Wayne a second time before facing two straight Atlantic Sun members, North Florida, last season’s conference tourney champion, Dec. 16, in Jacksonville, Fla., and Lipscomb, Dec. 20.

When the Govs do return home against Wofford it will begin a six-game homestand, split over the final 1 ½ weeks of December and the first 1 ½ weeks of January. After Christmas, the Governors will play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Dec. 28, and Westminster, Dec. 30, before opening Ohio Valley Conference play against a trio of OVC East opponents as 2016 begins.

“It is a well-round schedule that is challenging for sure,” Loos said. “We are playing a variety of teams from a variety of conferences. Hopefully, that will help prepare us for conference play.”

In fact, Saturday, Jan. 2 will see APSU tipoff the OVC slate against Eastern Kentucky. That will be first of six Saturday OVC home contests. After the Colonels come to town the Governors will play host to Jacksonville State, Thursday, Jan. 7, before battling Tennessee Tech, Saturday, Jan. 9.

APSU then will hit the OVC road to Nashville to face defending OVC tourney champ Belmont, Jan. 14, and then to Tennessee State two days later before returning home to play their first OVC West opponent, SIU Edwardsville, Thursday, Jan. 21. In fact, after playing Eastern Illinois in Clarksville, Saturday, Jan. 23, the Govs will embark on a six-game OVC road trip that won’t see them return home until Feb. 13. Included in that trip will be APSU’s annual venture to rival Murray State, Feb. 6.

The Governors will return home Saturday, Feb. 13, against UT Martin in its annual Hall of Fame contest before a return engagement with the Racers a week later as APSU will celebrate its annual Basketball Reunion.

After going to SIU Edwardsville, Thursday, Feb. 25, the Govs will conclude the regular season against Southeast Missouri, Feb. 27, for Senior Day.

The OVC tourney will return to Municipal Auditorium, Wednesday, March 2, with first-round contest. The four-day tourney will conclude, Saturday, March 6, with the tourney title game.