The LU men’s basketball team went 11-21, but qualified for the OVC Tournament last season. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
BRENTWOOD, TN – The Ohio Valley Conference announced its men’s and women’s basketball conference schedules for the 2023-24 season on Monday.
This season will mark the first in the league for Western Illinois, who became official members on July 1, after spending the last 22 seasons as members of the Summit League.
The Leathernecks will join Lindenwood, Eastern Illinois, Little Rock, Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, SIUE, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin to form an 11-team league for basketball this season.
Each school will play an 18-game schedule which will begin on Thursday, December 28 and conclude on Saturday, March 2.
Lindenwood will open its 2023-24 conference schedule with a double header against Southern Indiana on December 30. Game times will be announced later.
The season, the Lions will host the following schools at Hyland Arena: Southern Indiana (12/30), SIUE (1/18), Eastern Illinois (1/20), SEMO (1/30), Western Illinois (2/1), Tennessee State (2/8), Tennessee Tech (2/10), UT Martin (2/22), and Little Rock (2/24).
The 2024 OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 6-9, and will be played at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. This will be the seventh year in a row the tournaments will be played at that venue.
Each OVC school is eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship, including Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, who are in year two of the reclassification process to Division I.
Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the runner-up not be eligible, the AQ representative shall be the semifinalist that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament.
All Conference games and home non-conference contests can be seen on ESPN networks, with the majority of games broadcast on ESPN+. Additional linear exposures on ESPNU and ESPN2 will be announced at a later date.
2023-24 Lindenwood Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Schedule
Saturday, December 30
Southern Indiana at Lindenwood
Saturday, January 6
Lindenwood at Western Illinois
Thursday, January 11
Lindenwood at SEMO
Saturday, January 13
Lindenwood at Tennessee State
Thursday, January 18
SIUE at Lindenwood
Saturday, January 20
Eastern Illinois at Lindenwood
Thursday, January 25
Lindenwood at Little Rock
Saturday, January 27
Lindenwood at UT Martin
Tuesday, January 30
SEMO at Lindenwood
Thursday, February 1
Western Illinois at Lindenwood
Thursday, February 8
Tennessee State at Lindenwood
Saturday, February 10
Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood
Thursday, February 15
Lindenwood at SIUE
Saturday, February 17
Lindenwood at Eastern Illinois
Thursday, February 22
UT Martin at Lindenwood
Saturday, February 24
Little Rock at Lindenwood
Thursday, February 29
Lindenwood at Southern Indiana
Saturday, March 2
Lindenwood at Morehead State
Lindenwood sports information contributed to this story.