ST. LOUIS – The Purple Aces men's basketball team will embark on its 20^th season in the Missouri Valley Conference in a road that begins on January 1 of 2014.
 
Following an extremely tough non-conference slate, the MVC schedule will begin with a trip to Des Moines, Iowa to face Drake on New Year's Day.  The Bulldogs were 15-17 last season and took an 83-69 win at the Knapp Center last year.  The last win on the road versus the Bulldogs was in 2010 when UE picked up a 56-53 victory.
 
A pair of home games await the Aces as they open the home MVC portion against Indiana State on January 4.  The Sycamores were 18-15 last season en route to a berth in the NIT.  Evansville has played ISU strong at home, coming out on the winning end in six of the last nine contests.  Four days later, UNI comes to town looking to halt a 5-game losing streak against UE.  The Panthers ended last year with a 21-15 record on their way to a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
 
January 11 will see Evansville back on the road, making the short trip over to Carbondale, Ill.  In his first year at Southern Illinois, head coach Barry Hinson led his team to a 14-18 mark, including a 65-56 win in Carbondale.  The Aces will look to win for the first time at SIU since the 2000-01 campaign.  Next up on 1/15 will be the annual trek to Illinois State.  The Redbirds have seen significant change on their roster following last season where they went 18-15.  They have won the last two against UE at Redbird Arena.
 
New MVC member Loyola will make its first trip to the Ford Center on Jan. 18 as they make their inaugural run through the league.  Though the Ramblers are new to the conference, they have a long history against UE.  The teams have met on the hardwood 37 times with Evansville taking 21 of those matchups.
 
Next up for the Aces is a road trip to Missouri State set for Jan. 21.  Despite going 11-22 a season ago, things are looking up for the Bears as they return defending MVC Freshman of the Year Marcus Marshall.  He averaged 11.5 points per game on his way to being the only freshman on the All-MVC Newcomer Team.
 
Evansville returns home on January 26 to square off against Bradley, who posted one of the top turnarounds between 2011-12 and 2012-13.  The Braves were 18-17 last season and performed exceptionally well at home, going 14-4.  The Aces have won the last two meetings against Bradley at the Ford Center.
 
After a trip to UNI on Jan. 29, the Aces will take on Wichita State for the first time since sweeping the Final Four bound Shockers a season ago.  UE goes to Wichita on Feb. 1 before the Shockers return the trip to the Ford Center on the 16^th.  A home game against Missouri State on 2/5 will mark a stretch that will see UE at home in five out of seven games. 
 
A trip to Bradley will take place on Feb. 9 before Evansville returns home to take on Illinois State (2/12) and Wichita State (2/16).  The Aces trek to Indiana State on the 19^th before returning to the Ford Center for the final two regular-season games of the year – beginning against the Salukis on the 22^nd and wrapping up against Drake on the 25^th.  The regular season wraps up at Loyola on Saturday, March 1.
 
Game times and potential television games will be announced as soon as they are available.

MVC Schedule
Jan. 1 - at Drake
Jan. 4 - Indiana State
Jan. 8 - UNI
Jan. 11 - at Southern Illinois
Jan. 15 - at Illinois State
Jan. 18 - Loyola
Jan. 21 - at Missouri State
Jan. 26 - Bradley
Jan. 29 - at UNI
Feb. 1 - at Wichita State
Feb. 5 - Missouri State
Feb. 9 - at Bradley
Feb. 12 - Illinois State
Feb. 16 - Wichita State
Feb. 19 - at Indiana State
Feb. 22 - Southern Illinois
Feb. 25 - Drake
March 1 - at Loyola