By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team completed its 2016-17 schedule with the announcement of its Ohio Valley Conference slate Thursday afternoon.
"The OVC has turned into such a great basketball league with the number of quality teams, coaches, facilities and players who have gone on to play professionally," head coach Steve Payne said. "It really has evolved into a fantastic Division I basketball league and a tough one to navigate through each year."
And right off the bat, the Golden Eagles will find themselves navigating the road as they open league play with a single-game trip to Edwardsville, Ill. on New Year's Eve to take on SIUE. Tech will then quickly turn around and trek back to the Eblen Center for a two-game home stand against long-time OVC rivals Austin Peay and Murray State on Jan. 5 and 7.
"It's always good for our fans when Austin Peay and Murray State come to play in the Eblen Center," Payne explained. "Ever since we went to divisional play five years ago, we only see them once a year, which means our fans only see them in our arena every two years. Those are traditional games for us and always bring another level of excitement, especially for our fans. They are typically very tough games as well, but that's what you get with rivalries."
Another quick trip on the bus awaits Tech following its annual bash with Murray State, a Jan. 10 meeting with Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Then, once again, it's back to the comfort of "The Hoop" for the Golden Eagles' East Division opener against Jacksonville State on Jan. 14.
"Once we hit divisional play, it really becomes a bear," Payne discussed. "The East [Division] has been so good the last few years and it won't be any different this year. Belmont, TSU and Morehead State all return a large chunk of their players. Jacksonville State has a lot of excitement with their new head coach. Eastern Kentucky returns what could be the best player and maybe the best pro prospect in the league in Nick Mayo. You just know every night out in the East, you're going to face great players and great coaches."
The showdown with the Gamecocks kicks off a string of five straight contests against East Division opponents, with road tilts at Tennessee State (Jan. 19) and Belmont (Jan. 21) leading into home games against Morehead State (Jan. 26) and Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 28), not to mention West opponent UT Martin (Feb. 1).
"In the OVC, you have to play it right out," Payne said. "It's a great schedule and it always is. It doesn't change a lot from year to year, other than who you play at home in the West [Division]. You know if you want to see great basketball, you can come watch OVC basketball."
A single visit to Eastern Illinois on Feb. 4 breaks up what could have been a five-game home stand, as the Golden Eagles return from Charleston, Ill. for their final two regular season home tilts of the season, a Feb. 9 match-up with Tennessee State and the team's annual Senior Night contest against Belmont on Feb. 11.
"Once conference play hits, things are really going to speed up," Payne explained. "You can't have any off days or you lose a game. It's been like that to a degree in the past, but even more so now. It will certainly be an interesting conference race. And hopefully we'll be right back in the mix competing for an OVC championship again this year."
Three road games closes out the OVC schedule for the purple and gold, including trips to Jacksonville State (Feb. 18), Morehead State (Feb. 23), and Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 25).
"I thought we were competitive in our pursuit for the league title last year, all the way up until the last game," Payne said. "I thought we had a fantastic year, and we don't want to take a step back from that. We want to keep moving forward. This team will be considerably different than last year's given the amount of young players. However, that can lead to a lot of exciting possibilities for us.
"We want our fans out at every game, absolutely. They provide a decisive home court advantage for us and that becomes increasingly important in conference play when anyone can win any night. We have 15 home games this year, which means there are 15 chances for our fans to come out and see us play in Cookeville. We also have eight games within a four-hour drive of campus, so hopefully we'll be putting together a great year and people will get excited and follow us everywhere we play.
"I think from the very first game at Georgia Tech to the very last game at Eastern Kentucky, we are going to have an exciting brand of basketball with some great kids."
Photo by Tony Marable
