Strong non-conference slate highlights Northwestern State Demons’ 2022-23 men’s basketball schedule

NATCHITOCHES – The first season of the Corey Gipson era of Northwestern State men’s basketball will take the Demons to several familiar places and one it has never seen.

Trips to Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor and Texas A&M highlight the 13-game, non-conference portion of NSU’s 2022-23 schedule while the Demons will host and travel to Illinois State for the first time in a home-and-home matchup with the Missouri Valley Conference members.

An 18-game Southland Conference stretch from Dec. 31-March 1 closes the season, which leads into the Southland Conference Tournament from March 5-8 at the Legacy Center on McNeese’s campus.

“We put together a jam-packed schedule,” Gipson said. “Associate head coach Rodney Hamilton is a very diligent worker when it comes to organizing that. We put our minds together as a staff, and we think the challenge at hand is best for the group we have on the roster. We have a group who works very hard, so we feel they’re up for the task.”

The Demons open the season Nov. 7 at Texas Tech before returning home for the first home game of the Gipson era Nov. 10 against Ouachita Baptist. NSU then hosts Illinois State on Nov. 12 when the school will dedicate Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum in the Coach Mike McConathy Classic.

Those two matchups make up half of the Demons’ home non-conference schedule with the other half coming in back-to-back games against Southern Miss (Dec. 4) and ULM (Dec. 10).

“Having come from Missouri State, we have some guys on our roster who have played in the Missouri Valley, so they’re intrigued and looking forward to playing a home-and-home series with Illinois State,” Gipson said. “We’re only playing one non-Division I school. We’ve got Southern Miss coming in. We play at Rice. We’ve got ULM coming in. Our non-conference schedule will really expedite the growth of the team. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Northwestern State will be familiar with the Big 12 as well as the Demons’ neighbors in Texas during non-conference play. In addition to facing Texas Tech in the season opener, NSU plays at Big 12 members TCU (Nov. 14) and Baylor (Dec. 20) and visits former Southland Conference foe Stephen F. Austin (Dec. 1), Rice (Dec. 17) and Texas A&M (Dec. 27).

The Texas three step of Rice, Baylor and Texas A&M concludes the non-conference portion of the schedule ahead of the Demons’ return home Dec. 31 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Southland Conference opener.

NSU opens with three of its first four conference games at home, facing Nicholls (Jan. 7) and McNeese (Jan. 12) at home following a short sojourn to McNeese on Jan. 5.

The Demons have a pair of three-game Southland road trips – traveling to Nicholls (Jan. 14), Southeastern (Jan. 19) and New Orleans (Jan. 21) and then Houston Baptist (Feb. 2), Lamar (Feb. 4) and Texas A&M-Commerce (Feb. 9).

The trip to Commerce is the first of a back-to-back, home-and-home series with the Lions, who make their first trip as a Division I team to Natchitoches on Feb. 11.

That game starts the Demons’ lone three-game SLC homestand of the season, which also includes visits from Southeastern (Feb. 16) and New Orleans (Feb. 18).

“We’ve got the defending (Southland tournament) champions coming in on Dec. 31, so what better way to start conference play?” Gipson said. “We know what’s at stake. One thing we have to do is take care of home court.”

Season tickets for Northwestern State basketball are available by contacting the Northwestern State Athletics ticket office at 318-357-4269 or online at www.NSUTickets.com.

2022-23 Northwestern State Men’s Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent Location

Nov. 7 Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas

Nov. 10 Ouachita Baptist Prather Coliseum

Nov. 12 Illinois State Prather Coliseum

Nov. 14 TCU Fort Worth, Texas

Nov. 17 Illinois State Normal, Illinois

Nov. 26 Central Arkansas Conway, Arkansas

Nov. 27 Bethune-Cookman Conway, Arkansas

Dec. 1 Stephen F. Austin Nacogdoches, Texas

Dec. 4 Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Dec. 10 ULM Prather Coliseum

Dec. 17 Rice Houston

Dec. 20 Baylor Waco, Texas

Dec. 27 Texas A&M College Station, Texas

Dec. 31 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi* Prather Coliseum

Jan. 5 McNeese* Lake Charles

Jan. 7 Nicholls* Prather Coliseum

Jan. 12 McNeese* Prather Coliseum

Jan. 14 Nicholls* Thibodaux

Jan. 19 Southeastern* Hammond

Jan. 21 New Orleans* New Orleans

Jan. 26 Houston Baptist* Houston

Jan. 28 Lamar* Prather Coliseum

Feb. 2 Houston Baptist* Houston

Feb. 4 Lamar* Beaumont, Texas

Feb. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce* Commerce, Texas

Feb. 11 Texas A&M-Commerce* Prather Coliseum

Feb. 16 Southeastern* Prather Coliseum

Feb. 18 New Orleans* Prather Coliseum

Feb. 23 UIW* San Antonio

Feb. 25 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi* Corpus Christi, Texas

March 1 UIW* Prather Coliseum