Bearkats unveil formidable schedule
9/7/2016 5:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State men's basketball team will play 16 times at Johnson Coliseum among its 31-game slate, headlined by three visits from Division I programs during the 2016-17 season, head coach Jason Hooten announced Wednesday.
After tipping off the season on Nov. 12 against LeTourneau, the squad's next three home games will take place against the likes of Southern (Nov. 17), Idaho (Nov. 25) and North Texas (Dec. 17).
“It's a difficult schedule,” Hooten said. “We have 16 home games which is the second or third time in the history of the school we've been able to do that. The exciting part about that is three non-conference Division I games. We have Southern, North Texas and Idaho, who won 21 games last year and has basically their whole team back.”
The slate also features several high-profile road matchups including visits to Ohio (Nov. 14), Tennessee Tech (Nov. 20), Georgia Tech (Nov. 22), Baylor (Nov. 30), Southern Illinois (Dec. 10) and Arkansas (Dec. 22) in Little Rock.
“It gets you ready for Southland play and that's the most important part of our schedule,” Hooten said of the challenging non-conference slate. “You get to the point where you're fighting to win the league or the conference tournament. Night in and night out you have to be ready to play and a real good preseason schedule helps prepare you for that point.”
A season ago, the Bearkats pushed Southern Illinois to overtime before eventually falling 86-81. Hooten believes his veteran squad will benefit from trips like the return game to Carbondale, Ill., on top of environments like what the Kats can expect at Arkansas and Baylor.
“I hope our schedule is a lot like it was two years ago,” Hooten said. “It was tough but we had an older team. When we did go into an environment like Arkansas or Baylor, our guys were pretty level headed. Crowds and adversity didn't affect them at all and I hope that's the case with this team being that we're experienced and have nine guys returning.”
Sam Houston tips off Southland Conference play on Dec. 29, hosting Houston Baptist at 6:30 p.m. The Kats will play four straight at home beginning with Lamar on Jan. 19 and continuing with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Jan. 21), Southeastern Louisiana (Jan. 28) and Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 2).
After visits from Abilene Christian on Feb. 25 and McNeese on March 2, the Bearkats close out the regular season on March 4 at Stephen F. Austin. Once again, the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament will take place March 8-11 in Katy.
“I don't want to compare it to the team that won 26 games two years ago but it has a lot of similarities with the depth,” Hooten said of his 2016-17 team. “It may be the deepest team we've had up to this point. Hopefully we can stay injury free and keep everyone on the floor. We'll be able to play big, small, half court or full court. There are a lot of different ways we can go with this team.”
The Bearkats are seeking their first Southland Conference championship since 2010. The program has advanced to the Southland Tournament semifinals or further, including consecutive trips to the league final during 2014 and 2015.
“The expectations will be high, not only from ourselves but from everyone else,” Hooten said. “We will take it a day at a time and one game at a time.”
November
Saturday, Nov. 12 LeTourneau Huntsville 2:00 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 14 Ohio Athens, Ohio 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 17 Southern Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 20 Tennessee Tech Cookeville, Tenn. TBA
Tuesday, Nov. 22 Georgia Tech Atlanta TBA
Friday, Nov. 25 Idaho Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 30 Baylor Waco TBA
December
Saturday, Dec. 3 LSU-Shreveport Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10 Southern Illinois Carbondale, Ill. 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 13 Sul Ross Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17 North Texas Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 19 Randall Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 22 Arkansas Little Rock, Ark. TBA
Thursday, Dec. 29 Houston Baptist Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 31 Central Arkansas Conway, Ark. 5:00 p.m.
January
Thursday, Jan. 5 McNeese Lake Charles, La. TBA
Saturday, Jan. 7 Nicholls Huntsville 6:15 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 12 New Orleans New Orleans TBA
Saturday, Jan. 14 Northwestern State Natchitoches, La.3:00 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 19 Lamar Huntsville 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 21 A&M-Corpus Christi Huntsville 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 28 Southeastern La. Huntsville 6:15 p.m.
February
Thursday, Feb. 2 Stephen F. Austin Huntsville 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4 Abilene Christian Abilene 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 9 Lamar Beaumont TBA
Saturday, Feb. 11 Incarnate Word Huntsville 6:15 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16 Houston Baptist Houston 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18 Incarnate Word San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 Abilene Christian Huntsville 6:15 p.m.
March
Thursday, March 2 McNeese Huntsville 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 4 Stephen F. Austin Nacogdoches TBA
March 8-11 SLC Tournament Katy TBA
