Morehead State has finalized its 2014-15 women's basketball schedule. The 29-game slate features six dates against postseason teams from a year ago, including Southeastern Conference member Kentucky and Big Ten opponent Indiana.
"We have a very competitive schedule," first-year Head Coach Greg Todd said. "We open the season with what should be a great traveling experience for our team at Norfolk State (Nov. 14) and George Mason (Nov. 16) and then face Kentucky (Nov. 19) and Indiana (Nov. 21) back-to-back."
The Eagles will also travel to face Mid-American Conference opponent Akron (Dec. 5), which enjoyed an NCAA Tournament berth last season.
"We are going to take the road experiences very positively." Todd said. "We have an entirely new coaching staff as well as a few new players, and by the time we hit conference play, we hope to have developed an identity. I'm a firm believer in playing your best in January, February and March."
Morehead State will host 14 regular-season games at Johnson Arena, including non-conference foes Brescia (Ky.) (Nov. 24), Lipscomb (Nov. 29), Georgia State (Dec. 7), East Tennessee State (Dec. 15), Cleveland State (Dec. 21) and Southern Illinois (Dec. 30). Other non-conference road contests are at Ohio (Dec. 3) and USC Upstate (Dec. 17).
The Ohio Valley Conference slate features 16 games. Morehead State opens league play at home against Murray State (Jan. 3) as part of a doubleheader. Six of the eight OVC home dates are doubleheaders with the MSU men's team, and the remaining two are Wednesday single games.
In 2011-12, when the OVC expanded to 12 member institutions, the league split basketball teams into six-team East and West Divisions for scheduling purposes. While this scheduling process is still in place, the women's basketball standings will be listed 1-12 beginning this season to better align with seeding procedures of the women's basketball tournament.
"Our league will be strong again," Todd said. "The OVC is full of tough and competitive teams. Several teams return almost their entire rosters."
MSU hosts SIU Edwardsville (Jan.15), Eastern Illinois (Jan. 17), Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 31), Belmont (Feb. 4), Tennessee State (Feb. 7), Tennessee Tech (Feb. 18) and Jacksonville State (Feb. 28). The Eagles will only face Southeast Missouri (Jan. 8), UT Martin (Jan. 10) and Austin Peay (Jan. 19) once on the road.
UT Martin and Belmont both enjoyed postseason play in 2014. The Skyhawks won the OVC Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament, while Belmont earned a spot in the WNIT.
The OVC Tournament features a new format as well. The top eight teams will advance with no true byes this season. Seeds one and two will play seeds seven and eight on March 4, and the winners will get a day off in between as the other four seeds play their opening round games on March 5. The semifinals are set for March 6 with the championship game on March 7.
