Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball Releases 2004-05 Schedule
08/26/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 26, 2004
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University men's basketball team will play a 31- game regular-season schedule this year, due to its participation in an exempt tournament and a one-game trip to Hawaii. The school released its schedule on Thursday even though four opponents remain "To Be Announced." 2004-05 Saluki Men's Basketball Schedule Schools are normally restricted to a 27-game format, however SIU's participation in the four-game Las Vegas Tournament (Nov. 21-27) plus a trip to play at Hawaii (Nov. 29) count as a total of just one game under NCAA rules. The first two games of the Las Vegas Tournament will be played at SIU Arena on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23. However, the tournament director has not identified those opponents, yet. The other TBA opponents are the Nov. 27 game in Las Vegas and the Feb. 19 ESPN Bracket Buster road game on Feb. 19. The Salukis will appear in the Bracket Buster for the third-straight year. SIU beat UW-Milwaukee in 2003 and Hawaii in 2004, and both wins were instrumental in the teams' at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. This year's opponent will be announced by ESPN in early February. "It's an ambitious non-conference schedule and one that will help prepare us for the rigors of the MVC," first-year Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said of the 2004-05 slate. Among the highlights on the schedule are a Nov. 26 matchup with Vanderbilt, a Southeastern Conference school that advanced to the Sweet 16 last year. The game will be played on a neutral court in Las Vegas. The winner will likely play another marquee opponent on the final day of the tournament on Nov. 27. There are also home dates with two teams from power conferences -- Saint Louis (Conference USA) and Wyoming (Mountain West), and road trips to Hawaii (Western Athletic Conference) and Louisiana-Lafayette (defending Sun Belt champions). Of the team's nine non-conference opponents so far, five had RPIs in the top 100 last year. That number could increase when the Salukis' opponents in the Las Vegas and Bracket Buster tournaments are announced.
