SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State University has finalized its 2009-10 men's basketball non-conference schedule, a slate that includes 19 home games at JQH Arena, including a pair of preseason exhibition contests in early November.
 The Bears will host the University of Missouri-St. Louis on November 2, and Henderson State on November 10 in its two exhibition games. The team then opens the regular season schedule with five straight home games at its 11,000-seat home facility, JQH Arena.
 The 2009-10 season opener will be on Monday, November 16 against Auburn, followed by three additional home games in the Hispanic College Fund Challenge, November 20-22, and a home date with Tulsa on November 28. The home tourney features Maryland-Eastern Shore, The Citadel and Eastern Michigan in a three-day, round-robin format.
 Following the five home games to start the season, the Bears travel to Arkansas-Little Rock on December 2, and then return to JQH Arena on December 5 to play Air Force in the inaugural Missouri Valley / Mountain West Challenge Series. The Bears continue the home stand on December 9 when they host UT Martin in the return game from last season's ESPNU BracketBusters.
 The team's longest road swing of the season takes place in the middle of December as second-year head coach Cuonzo Martin takes his troops to Arkansas State on December 12, before renewing the school's rivalry with St. Louis University on December 19 and closing out the three-game tilt at Arkansas on December 22.
 "It's a great schedule, and we certainly look forward to playing some excellent competition," said Martin whose 2009-10 squad features three returning starters and six newcomers. "As a player, this is the type of schedule you want to play: with teams like Auburn and Arkansas from the SEC, a tough home tournament that will push us for three straight days, some quality home games for our fans, and some good tests on the road. This is the type of schedule, with postseason-caliber opponents, to get a team ready for the conference season, and we're very happy with it."
 Including Missouri Valley Conference foes, the Bears' 2009-10 slate features 11 teams that appeared in one of the four postseason basketball events last season. Northern Iowa is the only NCAA tournament team on the slate, while five opponents played in the National Invitation Tournament, including quarterfinalist Auburn, second-round advancers Tulsa and Creighton, as well as UT Martin and Illinois State. Making the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament were Evansville, Drake, Citadel and Bradley, while Wichita State played in the College Basketball Invitational.
 The MVC schedule is expected to be released within the next two weeks and will include a home-and-home series with the other nine league foes. The Bears' final non-conference contest will be on Saturday, February 20 with a home game in the annual ESPNU BracketBusters series. The 2009-10 State Farm MVC Tournament will take place at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, March 4-7.
 2009-10 Bears season tickets are available now by calling (417) 836-7678 or (888) 476-7849. When available, individual game tickets can be purchased on-line at www.MissouriStateTix.com, while team news, stats, updates, and ticket specials are available at www.MissouriStateBears.com, the official web site of Missouri State athletics.
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