MACOMB, ILL. - Head coach Billy Wright, who is in the midst of his first year as head coach of the Western Illinois men's basketball team, announced the Fighting Leathernecks' 2014-15 schedule Thursday morning (Sept 11).

WIU's slate features 14 games at home as well as an exhibition contest against Cornell College on Nov. 8 inside Western Hall on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court.

"We have put together a schedule that I believe not only challenges our team but also offers a good competitive balance," said coach Wright. "I was looking for opponents who had been to the postseason, because if we want to get back to that level, we have to test ourselves against opponents who have recently competed in the postseason. I also wanted to get as many home games as possible for our fans and our students. With 14 regular season home games, plus one home exhibition game, our fans and our students will have plenty of opportunities to show their support."

Western opens the regular season at home against West Coast Conference member Pacific on Nov. 8 before traveling across the state to face the UIC Flames in Chicago (Nov. 17).

WIU finishes up the month of November with a home contest against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions (Nov. 22), a game at William and Mary (Nov. 25) to face the Tribe, and another home game versus the Greenville Panthers (Nov. 29). The Leathernecks played all three opponents last season.

Back-to-back nonconference contests in Ohio kick-off WIU's month of December. The Leathernecks face Akron, Mid-American Conference member, on Dec. 4, and Horizon League member Cleveland State on Dec. 7 before returning to Western Hall to play Idaho (Dec. 11) and Alabama State (Dec. 13). Idaho belongs to the Western Athletic Conference and Alabama State is a Southwestern Athletic Conference institution.

The nonconference portion of Western's schedule concludes with a game at American Athletic Conference member Memphis and a home contest against Anderson (Ind.). It will mark the first meeting for WIU against both Memphis and Anderson.

The 2015 calendar opens with Summit League play in Macomb as the Leathernecks play host to Fort Wayne (Jan. 2) and Omaha (Jan. 4) before heading north to face the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State on January 7.

Oral Roberts, who is back in the league after spending two seasons in the Southland Conference, returns to Macomb for a league battle on January 10. The Leathernecks then hit the road for a two straight contests, first at Denver (Jan. 14) before heading to North Dakota State (Jan. 16).

After a three game home stand that includes contests against South Dakota (Jan. 22), IUPUI (Jan. 30) and NDSU (Feb. 1), Western hits the road for three consecutive games at South Dakota (Feb. 5), Oral Roberts (Feb. 12) and Omaha (Feb. 14).

The regular season concludes with a pair of home contests, followed by a two-game road swing. South Dakota State visits Western Hall on Feb. 18 and Denver comes to town Feb. 21 before Western heads to IUPUI (Feb. 26) and Fort Wayne (Feb. 28).

With Omaha in its final year of transition to Division I, the other eight institutions will head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the 2015 Summit League Championships March 7-10.

The Complete @WIUMensHoops 2014-15 Schedule

- All times CT
* Denotes conference game
- All home games are in bold
 

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