BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson announced the 2010-11 schedule for the LSU Tigers that will include 18 home games and contests against 11 teams that went to post-season play a season ago.
Also, for the second straight year under the terms of the 15-year-contract with ESPN, every conference game of every team will be televised either regionally or nationally.
The Tigers open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Northwestern State. LSU has not lost a game in the PMAC to an in-state school since Dec. 6, 1988.
“Our schedule this coming season is very challenging,” said Coach Johnson. “With four incoming freshmen, no matter who we play, when we play or where we play, our schedule is very tough and very competitive. That being said, our basketball team is one our fan base can grow with and watching their development over the next couple of years will be exciting.”
In non-conference play, LSU will open a home-and-home series with Houston on Nov. 30, playing the Cougars for the first time since 2005. Houston advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. LSU will also start a home-and-home at the PMAC with Coastal Carolina, an NIT team of 2010, coached by former Auburn coach Cliff Ellis, and former LSU player and assistant coach Johnny Jones will bring his North Texas team to the PMAC for the first of a home-and-home series coming off a 24-9 season last year.
LSU will make its first appearance in Shreveport since 2004 on Dec. 18 when the Tigers will host Wichita State in the Century Tel Center in Bossier City. It is one of two “neutral” site games for LSU as the Tigers will face Memphis in the Bancorp South Arena in Tupelo, Miss., on Sunday, Nov. 22, in a game to be televised by CBS College Sports.
LSU and Southern will play at the PMAC for the first time since 2008, ninth time overall, on Dec. 27 and the Tigers close out the non-conference schedule on Jan. 2 as LSU travels to Virginia.
LSU opens the Southeastern Conference schedule on Saturday, Jan. 8 at Auburn in what will be the first SEC game played in the new Auburn Arena. That will be one of three SEC games LSU will play on Fox Sports Net. LSU opens its SEC home schedule on the following Wednesday, Jan. 12, against Arkansas in the first of nine appearances on the over-the-air SEC Network.
ESPN/ESPN2 will have back-to-back coverage of games at the Maravich Assembly Center in February when LSU plays a rare Thursday-Sunday set of games. LSU will host Alabama on Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. and then play the Gators of Florida on Feb. 20 at noon.
The complete television schedule of non-conference games has not been determined, including the games that will be televised regionally on the home of LSU sports, Cox Sports TV.
Ticket applications for the 2010-11 season are being taken by the LSU Athletics Ticket Office. Prices start at a minimum of $100. Ticket information is available online at www.LSUtix.net or by calling the Ticket Office at 225-578-2184.