Men's basketball to play Kentucky, Gonzaga in non-conference slate
First year head coach Tony Barbee has assembled a non-conference schedule that may be the hardest stretch of opponents CMU men's basketball has seen in a long time.
The Chippewas start with an exhibition matchup with Olivet College on Saturday, Nov. 6. CMU officially begins the 2021-22 season at Missouri Nov. 9. The Tigers finished 16-10 and lost to Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Chippewas stay on the road for games against DePaul Nov. 13 and Eastern Illinois Nov. 15. Both schools combined for 14 wins in 2020-21.
CMU then travels to Las Vegas for the 2021 Empire Classic to play Gonzaga Nov. 22 and Bellarmine Nov. 23. The Zags lone loss came to Baylor in the 2021 National Championship game.
The Chippewas play two more road games in the stretch of three games. CMU plays at Kentucky on Nov. 29 and at Xavier Dec. 1. Barbee served as an assistant coach for the Wildcats from 2014-2021.
CMU's first official home contest falls on Sunday, Dec. 5 against Western Illinois and hit the road once again to face Youngstown State Dec. 8 and Detroit Mercy Dec. 18. The Chippewas second home game of the season welcomes the University of Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 11.
CMU's Mid-American Conference schedule will be released at a later time.
2021-22 Schedule
Nov. 6 Olivet (Ex.)
Nov. 9 Missouri
Nov 13. DePaul
Nov. 15 Eastern Illinois
Nov. 22 Gonzaga*
Nov. 23 Bellarmine*
Nov. 29 Kentucky
Dec. 1 Xavier
Dec. 5 Western Illinois
Dec. 8 Youngstown State
Dec. 11 UIC
Dec. 18 Detroit Mercy
Home games in bold
* 2021 Empire Classic game
