Breaking down Evansville men's basketball's Missouri Valley Conference schedule

EVANSVILLE — The University of Evansville men's basketball team knows its full schedule ahead of coach David Ragland's second season. The Purple Aces' Missouri Valley Conference slate was announced Friday after UE's non-conference schedule was released in August.

The Aces have finished bottom of the MVC in four of the past five seasons and haven't reached the 10-win mark since 2018-19. Despite that, there is optimism for improvements as Ragland has a team of players he and his staff recruited for the first time, aside from fifth-year guard Gage Bobe. That, paired with the coaches having a full offseason, gives reason for hope at Ford Center.

UE begins Valley play Nov. 29 at Missouri State before hosting Northern Iowa three days later in the two early league games. The full MVC slate begins at Indiana State on Jan. 3. UE plays Southern Illinois and Belmont once but will face every other team home and away.

Let's break down UE's conference schedule.

Toughest stretch: Early and mid-to-late January

The MVC is a deep and difficult league in most seasons, with the upcoming year likely bringing more of the same. The Valley is commonly referred to as 'the best one-bid league in America,' though there was some dispute last season with the Atlantic 10 and other leagues that had one NCAA tournament team.

The Aces toughest stretch comes throughout January, though a three-game span in February could also give them fits.

UE opens against a revamped and potential sleeper Indiana State in Terre Haute on Jan. 3. The Aces then host Murray State (Jan. 6) before traveling to defending regular-season champion Bradley on Jan. 10, a fixture that saw them lose by 45 points last season. UE hosts Missouri State (Jan. 13) and Valparaiso (Jan. 16) as a bit of a reprieve before making the two-game swing to Iowa to face title-favorite Drake (Jan. 20) and a highly-touted Northern Iowa (Jan. 23).

Six of the seven teams UE faces in this span have played in the postseason — be that the NCAA tournament, NIT or CBI — in the past two seasons. Valparaiso is the lone exception.

Most winnable stretch: Late January and the first February game

The Aces will have a lighter load for the first few games when they depart Iowa before a three-game stretch at home against Bradley (Feb. 7), at Murray State (Feb. 10) and hosting Drake (Feb. 13) provides further stern matchups.

The friendlier bit of the schedule sees UE host Illinois State (Jan. 27) and Illinois-Chicago (Jan. 31) before traveling to Valparaiso (Feb. 3). None of those three, nor the Aces, got out of the Thursday night opening games at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis and will likely be projected near the bottom of the league.

The Flames lost their top producers in Jace Carter (Texas A&M) and Tre Anderson (graduation) but retain Filip Slobalj and Christian Jones. The Beacons lost all-conference forward Ben Krikke (Iowa) and Kobe King (graduation) and underwent a coaching change, with Matt Lottich being replaced by former Gonzaga assistant coach Roger Powell Jr. The Redbirds, under fellow second-year coach Ryan Pedon, could be in a position to take a step forward like UE this season.

Longest road trips and home stands

The Aces aren't plighted by many long trips and nights away from Evansville. UE has a pair of two-game roadtrips and nothing longer than that. Those are the aforementioned Iowa trip to Drake and Northern Iowa (Jan. 20-23) and a much friendlier slate at Illinois State and UIC (Feb. 18-21).

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Likewise, the Aces have no more than two consecutive home games on the league schedule. There are three two-game home spans throughout the MVC slate: Missouri State and Valparaiso (Jan. 13-17), Illinois State and UIC (Jan. 27-31) and Southern Illinois and Indiana State (Feb. 25-28).

The game-by-game look at UE's MVC slate

Nov. 29: at Missouri State (Great Southern Bank Arena, Springfield, Missouri)

Dec. 2: vs. Northern Iowa (Ford Center)

Jan. 3: at Indiana State (Human Center, Terre Haute, Indiana)

Jan. 6: vs. Murray State (Ford Center)

Jan. 10: at Bradley (Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois)

Jan. 13: vs. Missouri State (Ford Center)

Jan. 17: vs. Valparaiso (Ford Center)

Jan. 20: at Drake (Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa)

Jan. 23: at Northern Iowa (McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa)

Jan. 27: vs. Illinois State (Ford Center)

Jan. 31: vs. UIC (Ford Center)

Feb. 3: at Valparaiso (Athletics-Recreation Center, Valparaiso, Indiana)

Feb. 7: vs. Bradley (Ford Center)

Feb. 10: at Murray State (CFSB Center, Murray, Kentucky)

Feb. 13: vs. Drake (Ford Center)

Feb. 18: at Illinois State (Redbird Arena, Normal, Illinois)

Feb. 21: at UIC (Credit Union 1 Arena, Chicago)

Feb. 25: vs. Southern Illinois (Ford Center)

Feb. 28: vs. Indiana State (Ford Center)

March 3: at Belmont (Curb Event Center, Nashville)

March 7-10: MVC Tournament (Enterprise Center, St. Louis)

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville Purple Aces: Breaking down the men's Missouri Valley slate