CHICAGO, Ill. – The Illinois Institute of Technology men's basketball team has released its 2016-17 schedule. It features a trip to Santa Cruz, California, six straight home games in the month of February, and 11 total home contests at the Keating Sports Center.
"Our 2016-17 will be very challenging and show us exactly where we are as a program," said Head Coach Todd Kelly, who is entering his third season at the helm. "The schedule features several teams with a great shot at reaching the NCAA Tournament. I think we should be very competitive this season with more experience now on our roster."
After a home scrimmage against Concordia University Chicago on November 5 and a road exhibition at Division I opponent Chicago State University on November 11, the Scarlet Hawks will open the regular season schedule with five contests away from home in November. Anderson University will be Tech's first opponent, as the Scarlet Hawks will travel to Indiana on November 15. The Scarlet Hawks will also play at the University of Chicago (November 22), against Kalamazoo College (November 26) and Oberlin College (November 27) at the Oberlin College Tournament, and at nearby Dominican University (November 30).
The home schedule opens up on Saturday, December 3. Tech will play host to Milwaukee School of Engineering for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off in the Keating Sports Center. Tech will follow up the home contest with a nine-day break for finals week, returning to game action on December 12 at Fontbonne University.
December 17 and 18 will be Illinois Tech's trip west. The team will head to Santa Cruz, California to compete against UC-Santa Cruz (December 17) and Pacific Lutheran (December 18). It will be Tech's first trip to The Golden State since the 2013-14 season.
The Scarlet Hawks will round out December with three more contests, two of which will take place in the Keating Sports Center. Tech hosts Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (December 22) and Monmouth College (December 30), with a road contest at Knox College (December 28) in between the two home games.
Road games at Coe College (January 7) and Carthage College (January 10) kick-off the first month of 2017 portion of the schedule. Tech will then play two of the next three contests at home, hosting Olivet College (January 16), traveling to Aurora University (January 18), and hosting North Park University (January 21). The Scarlet Hawks round out the month with road games at Moody Bible Institute (January 24) and Maranatha Baptist University (January 31).
February will be comprised of all home games, as the Scarlet Hawks will play at the Keating Sports Center six times. Dubuque University (February 4) and Lincoln Christian University (February 8) open the month with weeknight contests. Lakeland College (February 11), re-matches with Moody Bible Institute (February 14) and Maranatha Baptist University (February 21), and Emmaus Bible College (February 24) bring the month and schedule to a close.
The United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships are scheduled to take place from February 28 through March 5 at Penn-State Fayette in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The top eight Division I USCAA schools will qualify for the postseason tournament.
Game times will be posted on the Men's Basketball schedule page as they become available. Live audio, video, and statistics will be provided for all home contests. Home broadcasts will be powered by Illinois Media School.