RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team released its 2018-19 Ohio Valley Conference schedule on Monday.
EKU opens OVC play with a rugged four-game road stretch. The Colonels visit Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tennessee on Thursday, January 3. Two days later, they face defending conference champion Murray State in Murray.
The following weekend, Eastern heads to Nashville to face Tennessee State (Thursday, January 10) and Belmont (Saturday, January 12).
The Colonels open home OVC play against UT Martin on Thursday, January 17. They follow that up with another home game against Southeast Missouri on Saturday, January 19.
Due to Eastern Kentucky University hosting the All “A” Classic boys and girls basketball tournaments the week of January 21, the EKU men’s and women’s basketball teams will play two games at regional sites that week. The Colonels will host Jacksonville State on January 24 at Berea College. The teams will host Tennessee Tech on January 26 at Georgetown College.
The game at Georgetown College will allow new head coach A.W. Hamilton to coach his new team in his hometown. Hamilton starred at Scott County High School in the late 1990s, leading the Cardinals to a state championship in 1998 and a state runner-up finish in 1999. In 2015, he was inducted into the Scott County High School Athletics Hall of Fame.
Following road games at Eastern Illinois (Thursday, January 31) and SIUE (Saturday, February 2), EKU returns home to host Belmont on Thursday, February 7 and Tennessee State on Saturday, February 9.
The Colonels travel to in-state rival Morehead State for a Valentine’s Day matchup on Thursday, February 14. Murray State will then visit McBrayer Arena on Saturday night, February 16.
Following a road trip down south to Tennessee Tech (Thursday, February 21) and Jacksonville State (Saturday, February 23), Eastern will close out the OVC regular season by hosting Austin Peay on Thursday, February 28 and Morehead State on Saturday, March 2.
For the second consecutive year, the OVC Tournament will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The dates for the OVC Tournament are March 6-9.
EKU released its non-conference schedule in July. The Colonels open the 2018-19 season by hosting Marshall at McBrayer Arena on Wednesday, November 7. Other non-conference highlights include playing Kansas State in the 2018 Paradise Jam on Friday, November 16, trips to Tennessee (Wednesday, November 28) and Xavier (Saturday, December 15) and Northern Kentucky visiting McBrayer Arena on Saturday, December 8.
Senior Nick Mayo is EKU’s top returner. The 6-9 forward from Oakland, Maine was voted first team All-OVC for the third consecutive season after averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds-per-game in 2017-18.
