HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team tips off its regular-season schedule with a road game against perennial national power Grand Valley State on Nov. 15.
NKU, which won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship and finished 24-7 last season, meets Division I opponent Xavier on Nov. 7 in an exhibition game in the Cintas Center. Xavier advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament and finished 27-8 last season.
Eight days later, the Norse hit the road to meet Grand Valley State at Allendale, Mich. Grand Valley State posted a 21-10 record last season and is expected to be one of the top teams in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Four of the Lakers' 10 losses last season were against eventual NCAA Division II national champion Findlay, which is also a member of the GLIAC.
NKU returns home to play host to the 28th annual John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic Nov. 20-21 in The Bank of Kentucky Center. The Norse meet Lake Erie on Nov. 20 and conclude the two-day event Nov. 21 by facing Tusculum.
After playing a non-conference road game at Cincinnati-Clermont on Nov. 23, NKU travels to Erie, Pa., to participate in the Gary Miller Classic Nov. 27-28. The Norse meet Edinboro (Pa.) on Nov. 27, then face host Gannon (Pa.) on Nov. 28. Gannon advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season.
“Our non-conference schedule is going to be very challenging because we play four of our first six games on the road,” NKU head coach
Dave Bezold said. “We don't have an easy game in November, and then we start our conference schedule on the road.”
NKU begins GLVC play Dec. 3 with a road game at Indianapolis. The Norse conclude the road trip Dec. 5 with a showdown at Southern Indiana.
NKU hits the road Jan. 18 to meet GLVC newcomer Maryville (Mo.) in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Another new GLVC member, Illinois-Springfield, plays host to NKU on Jan. 28.
The GLVC, now a 15-team league with the addition of Maryville and Illinois-Springfield, is split into three divisions for 2009-10. NKU's divisional slate includes home-and-away games against Indianapolis, Southern Indiana, Bellarmine and Kentucky Wesleyan.
The GLVC Tournament will feature 12 teams this season and be played over two weekends. The top three teams from each of the league's three divisions and three wild-card teams will advance to the GLVC Tournament.
The opening round and quarterfinals of the event will be played at campus sites Feb. 27 and 28, with the four surviving teams advancing to Springfield, Ill., for the semifinals and championship March 6-7.
Illinois-Springfield is serving as the neutral site host this March. The Prairie Stars are not eligible to compete in the GLVC Tournament this season.
