A trip to Puerto Rico highlights a 2017-18 schedule for the Wayne State men’s basketball team, coach Jeff Kaminsky announced Monday.
Wayne State begins the season with an exhibition game at Div. I Wright State of Ohio on Friday, Nov. 3 in Dayton, Ohio. Wright State is coached by Scott Nagy, father of Wayne State senior Tyler Nagy.
The regular season opens on Friday, Nov. 10 at in-state rival Nebraska-Kearney, with the Lopers returning to Wayne two days later to face the Wildcats in the home opener on Sunday, Nov. 12. Wayne State hosts Barclay College of Kansas on Friday, Nov. 17, three days before its Nov. 20 NSIC opener against Augustana in Rice Auditorium.
The Wildcats close out the November slate with a trip to Puerto Rico to play two games on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24-25, against Div. II opponents who will be named at a later date.
"We have an exciting and challenging schedule in 2017-18," remarked Kaminsky. "The highlight of our preseason is our trip to Dayton, Ohio to face Division I Wright State. We start the regular season with two important in-region games against Nebraska-Kearney and one of the highlights of our non-conference schedule will be our trip to Puerto Rico and the opportunity to play in the Robert Clemente Coliseum in San Juan."
The December slate boasts 10 games, with five at home in a stretch of 11 days. Wayne State opens the month of December with conference road games at Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul on December 1-2. The Wildcats then return to Rice Auditorium for a five-game home stand, starting on Tuesday, Dec. 5 against Nebraska Christian College, with NSIC home games set for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8-9 against University of Mary and Minot State.
The Wildcats conclude the non-conference slate on Monday, Dec. 11 at home against Mount Marty and Friday, Dec. 15 against Grace Bible University.
"We will have an opportunity to play five non-conference home games this season compared to one last season," added Kaminsky.
Wayne State wraps up the December portion of the schedule with road contests at Augustana on Tuesday, Dec. 19, followed by games at Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State Dec. 30-31.
Six of Wayne State's eight games in January will be played at Rice Auditorium, starting Jan. 5-6 with NSIC home games against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. The lone road trip for Wayne State in January comes on the 12th and 13th, visiting Northern State and MSU Moorhead. Home games to close out the month of January find the Wildcats hosting Winona State and Upper Iowa Jan. 19-20, and St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth coming to Wayne Jan. 26-27.
The Feburary schedule of six games starts with the Wildcats on the road at Bemidji State Feb. 2 and Minnesota Crookston Feb. 3. The final home regular season games are Feb. 9-10 against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. Wayne STate ends the regular season on the road with visits to Upper Iowa Feb. 16 and Winona State Feb. 17.
The opening round of the NSIC Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament is set for Wednesday, Feb. 21, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota Feb. 24-27.
Wayne State ended the 2016-17 season with a 10-19 record, placing sixth in the NSIC South Division at 8-14 in league play. The Wildcats doubled last year's win total in Kaminsky’s first year and returns all players for next season since last year's roster had no seniors.
