Matchups with Bellarmine and Southern Indiana highlight the early portion of the Kentucky Wesleyan men’s basketball schedule, which was released Tuesday morning.
Wesleyan is entering year two of a four-year deal with Bellarmine, who jumped up to Division 1 earlier this year. The Knights will host the Panthers on Nov. 13. Bellarmine finished 28-5 last season, falling in the Regional final to Southern Indiana.
USI will open their new arena on Nov. 18th against the Panthers, beginning a four-year deal that alternates home sites each year. Neither team has played in the other’s home arena since Nov. 17, 2013. USI finished with a 26-9 record after making it to the NCAA Final Four last season.
“Even though we are not competing for conference championships against one another anymore, this is still an important game,” said Director of Athletics Rob Mallory. “Kentucky Wesleyan versus Southern Indiana is a significant rivalry in the history of Division II basketball, and I think we all recognized that it needs to continue. To not only lock that in for the next four years, but to get it back in our home arenas, is really exciting to us.”
The Panthers’ home opener is slated for Nov. 16 against Urbana. Wesleyan will also host Oakland City on the 20. Rounding out the month of November will be the traditional Thanksgiving Classic on the 29th and 30th, when Wesleyan will play host to Wheeling and Auburn Montgomery.
The first Great Midwest battle will take place on Dec. 5 at the Sportscenter against Ohio Dominican. The matchup starts a five-game homestand, concluding on Dec. 22 with Lincoln Memorial.
The Panthers will start the new year with a trip to North Canton, Ohio, for contests against Walsh and Malone on Jan. 2 and 4. In February, the Panthers’ only home games will come when they host Findlay and Hillsdale on the 6th and 8th.
In total, the Panthers will play 14 games at home with 12 contests on the road. Season ticket renewal information will go out the first week of September. Current season ticket holders will have an opportunity to reserve tickets for the game at USI when renewing their tickets. The USI athletic office will announce the availability of single-game tickets at a later date.
