Sept. 12, 2007

2007-08 IPFW Men's Basketball Schedule
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Fort Wayne, IN - Four teams from the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament are featured in the non-conference portion of the 2007-08 IPFW Men's Basketball schedule announced today.

Dane Fife's Mastodons will begin the season with a contest Wisconsin (Nov. 11).  The Badgers, who lost to UNLV 74-68 in the Midwest Regional final, finished the 2006-07 season at 30-6.

IPFW will also have back-to-back road games with Michigan State (Dec. 15) and Marquette (Dec.17).  Michigan State, an IPFW opponent for the past two seasons, bowed out of the East Region's second round, falling to No. 1 North Carolina, 81-67. In the first round, the 9th ranked Spartans topped No. 8 Marquette, 61-49.

The other NCAA team on the 'Dons schedule is the defending champion of the Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent Conference).  IPFW will host Oral Roberts on January 10 and travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 9.  The Golden Eagles lost to Washington State in the first round of the big dance, 70-54.  ORU finished the '06-'07 campaign with a mark of 23-11.

Also on the Mastodons' non-conference schedule are away games at Indiana State (Nov. 24), Nebraska (Nov. 26), Kent State (Dec. 20), and Ball State (Dec. 31).

IPFW will host non-conference opponents Valparaiso (Nov. 15), Manchester College (Nov. 21), Marygrove College (Dec. 1) and North Florida (Dec. 29).  It will be the first time the Mastodons have faced the Ospreys of North Florida.  That game will be held at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.

IPFW opens Summit League play for the first time on December 6, hosting Southern Utah.  The 'Dons will also have home conference games with UMKC (Dec. 8), Centenary (Jan 12.), Oakland (Dec. 19), South Dakota State (Jan. 31), North Dakota State (Feb. 2), Western Illinois (Feb. 21), and IUPUI (Feb. 23).

"Once again this year, the first part of the schedule will be very challenging with notable names like Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin among several others," Fife said. 

"Unlike last year, we will then begin conference play, which is something that a majority of this athletic department has never been involved in at the Division-I level."

"We are very excited to be a part of the much improved Summit League," he continued. 

"This is a conference on the rise and I am anxious to see how we stack up against the teams that we have not played against in the league. We have worked very hard to get where we are and it is essential that we continue to build team cohesiveness during the non conference part of the schedule in order to be ready to achieve the never-ending dream of winning a conference championship and playing in the postseason."

IPFW men's basketball season tickets are on sale now.  You can get your seats by calling 260-481-6372.

~Dons~