SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State University has announced its 2010-11 men's basketball schedule, a slate that includes up to 18 home games at JQH Arena, including a pair of preseason exhibition contests.     

The Bears will host Upper Iowa University on October 31 and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on November 6 in their two exhibition games. The team then opens the regular season schedule with a home opener against Oral Roberts on Friday, November 12 at its 11,000-seat home facility, JQH Arena.     

The start time for the regular-season opener against ORU will be finalized at a later date to accommodate the Preseason WNIT game hosted by the Lady Bears and set for 6 p.m. on that same date.     

The Bears then embark on their own preseason tournament journey in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, starting November 16-17 in Knoxville, Tenn. The Bears are the No. 6 national seed in the 16-team event, while South Regional host Tennessee is the No. 2 seed. The Bears will play Arkansas State in the first round on Nov. 16 in the preliminary game to the Tennessee vs. Belmont matchup in the other first-round game in Knoxville. The next night, the first-round losers will play each other in a consolation game, while the first-round winners will play for the regional championship and right to advance to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals and finals, November 24 and 26. Should the Bears not advance to New York, they would host two consolation games at JQH Arena, November 22-23.  Missouri State is 1-2 all-time in the preseason NIT with previous appearances in 1988 and 1998.     

A non-conference road game at Tulsa on November 19 is sandwiched between preseason NIT rounds and is one of just three non-conference road games, outside the NIT Tip-Off, on the 2010-11 slate.     

Four of the five non-conference games in December are at home. Dates with Arkansas-Little Rock (Dec. 1) and Central Arkansas (Dec. 4) precede a road game at Big 12 power Oklahoma State on Dec. 11 before the Bears return home to take on 2010 CBI runner-up Saint Louis University on Dec. 18 and a home rematch with Arkansas State Dec. 29.     

"We are very excited about the schedule and the quality of teams we will be facing," said third-year head coach Cuonzo Martin. "With the level of competition in the NIT Tip-Off, we are looking forward to seeing what we are made of right away. We have road games at Tulsa and Oklahoma State which were both postseason teams last season. Our fans will get a chance to see some great non-conference opponents at home like Oral Roberts and Saint Louis as well as the great programs in the Valley." 

Including five Missouri Valley Conference foes, the Bears' 2010-11 slate features at least eight teams that appeared in one of the four postseason basketball events last season. Oklahoma State, Northern Iowa and potential NIT Season Tip-Off regional foe Tennessee were all NCAA teams last season. Tennessee finished No. 10 in the final RPI and advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship.  Tulsa, Wichita State and Illinois State played in the National Invitation Tournament. Making the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament with the Bears was Creighton, while Indiana State saw action in the CBI with Saint Louis.     

The Bears open their 18-game Missouri Valley Conference schedule at Northern Iowa on December 29 and will host their first league foe at JQH Arena on New Year's Day against Illinois State. MSU will also travel to an opponent in the annual ESPN BracketBusters series, Feb. 18-20, which will be announced in early February. The State Farm MVC Tournament will take place at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, March 3-6.     

Missouri State, which returns its top six scorers and four starters from a 24-12 season a year ago, is tentatively scheduled to play at least seven games on the ESPN and FOX Sports television packages in addition to nine games on its recently-announced institutional television partnership with KY3, Inc. Additional national and regional television games in the NIT Season Tip-Off, ESPN BracketBuster series, MVC "Wildcard Weekend" (Feb. 26), and MVC Tournament are also possible.     

Martin also noted that the Bears still have one open date remaining on the 2010-11 schedule the team would like to fill, if possible. If filled, that date and opponent would be announced at a later time.     

2010-11 Bears season tickets are available now by calling (417) 836-4143. 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.