EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball opens the 2023-24 regular season Monday when the Screaming Eagles visit Saint Louis University for a 7 p.m. contest and begins a two-game road trip that concludes November 9 at 6 p.m. (CST) with a stopover at fourth-ranked Michigan State University to open the year.  The visits to Saint Louis and Michigan State will be the first for USI in the history of the men's basketball program. 
 
The USI-SLU showdown will be played at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, and will air live on Bally Sports Midwest and ESPN+, while the USI-Michigan State contest will be at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and will air on the Big Ten Network. The game can also be heard on ESPN 97.7FM (http://listentotheref.com) and 95.7FM The Spin (http://957thespin.com).
 
The Eagles are coming off their inaugural season of NCAA Division I play that saw them post a 16-17 overall record, 9-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. USI also made its first two Division I post-season appearances last year with first round contests in the OVC Championship and the College Basketball Invitational.
 
USI is forecast to place ninth in the OVC in the conference preseason poll, while Blue Ribbon Basketball put them in fifth.
 
SLU, which was 21-12 overall in 2022-23, was picked sixth in the A-10 preseason coaches poll. The Billikens opened the year with a pair of exhibition wins, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan College, 85-75, and Berea College, 98-60.
 
Michigan State, which was 21-13 overall last year, is ranked fourth in the Associated Press and the USA Today Top 25 polls and second in the Big Ten 2023-24 preseason poll. The Spartans split their two exhibition games to start the year, defeating Hillsdale College, 85-43, and falling to the University of Tennessee, 89-88.
 
Prior to hosting USI on November 9, Michigan State will host James Madison University Monday in East Lansing.
 
Following the season-opening road trip, the Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of Screaming Eagles Arena for the home opener November 12 when they host Chicago State University for a 3:30 p.m. contest. USI, which is slated to host 14 home games this year at Screaming Eagles Arena, has single-game tickets on sale now on USIScreamingEagles.com.