By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team announced the non-conference portion of its 2016-17 schedule Friday, featuring 15 match-ups prior to the kick off of Ohio Valley Conference play in late December and highlighted with contests against three major-conference opponents, including Georgia Tech, Michigan State and Tennessee.
Also included in this year's edition of the non-conference slate are seven contests played in the thrilling and home-friendly confines of the Eblen Center.
"We've always strived to get as many home games as possible," head coach Steve Payne explained. "We've historically been very successful in our building, especially out of conference, and our record on our home floor last season (14-1 overall, 7-0 non-conference) reflected that. Hopefully we'll continue to make it tough on our opponents with bigger crowds as we keep building our fan base. We need everybody in our community involved with Tennessee Tech basketball and in the seats on game day to do that.
"When we put together our schedule, our philosophy is we'll play anyone that will play us here. We really try and stay as regional as we can so our fans can travel and watch us play on the road as well as at home. It's a tough schedule, but we feel very fortunate we were able to put together what we have."
The Golden Eagles will hit the road for the start of the 2016-17 season, making a visit to Atlanta for a date with Georgia Tech on Nov. 11.
"This is a game we've been trying to get on the schedule for a while," Payne said. "We haven't played them a lot; I believe just once since I've been here. That's a big recruiting area for us and we try to get down and play in that region as often as we can. It's one of several regional contests that we hope we can get a lot of Golden Eagle fans out for. It's an exciting season-opener. We have a couple of guys on the roster from the state of Georgia, so I'm sure they'll be excited about going back home."
A flight to East Lansing is in the cards for Dec. 10 for the Tech squad, as the purple and gold face the perpetually ranked Michigan State Spartans for the third time in program history.
"We've played up there twice before," Payne said, "and it's just a different kind of atmosphere. They're probably going to be a top-five or top-10 team when we play. When you have the chance to play an opponent like that in that atmosphere with a Hall of Fame coach, it's special. They've treated us great in the past and we've had some hard-fought games and learned a lot every time we've gone up there."
"We're thankful that Tennessee agreed to play us again," Payne explained. "I think that game is always important for our fans because it's close regionally and they enjoy watching us compete against in-state competition, particularly a team with Tennessee's pedigree. I hope we'll be well represented at the game. Last time we played over there, we were very competitive and we'd like to be competitive again. If we play well, we'll have a chance in every game we play."
Tech's non-conference slate also features two home-and-home series with in-state rival Lipscomb and first-time opponent, Alabama A&M.
"It's a good precursor for OVC play," Payne detailed. "We play every team in our division twice and those people know you. You've got to be able to adjust to the way they defend you and how they make their own adjustments. I believe these two series will be a benefit for us in that way, plus they are both regional opponents. Both road games involved are relatively close and make it easy for our Golden Eagle fans to make the trip with us and support us away from Cookeville as well.
"All four of those contests will be tough, but they should be fun for our fans. We've developed a nice rivalry with Lipscomb over the last seven or eight years and we'll continue to keep playing them as long as we can."
Match-ups with Mid-American Conference members Ohio, Central Michigan and Miami (Ohio) pose a strong test for the Golden Eagles, as do home contests against Sam Houston State and Furman and a pre-Thanksgiving trip to Southern University.
"We have to get to know each other as a team," Payne explained. "We have a lot of tough games in our non-conference schedule. Several of our opponents will be ranked high in their respective leagues, such as Ohio and Sam Houston State. Others have had some success in guarantee games the past few seasons, like Southern did last season.
"We have a lot of new faces. We lost some good players. We have some young guys who will need to step up and play some key roles for us this year. Right now we have guys who are willing to play together and a lot of depth. I think we'll be a little more athletic than we have been in the past. We're bigger at the guard position, which should help us return to being a good rebounding team. We should be fun to watch again this season and I can't wait to see our fans pack the Eblen Center on Nov. 14 for that first game!"
Photo by Tony Marable
