The Valparaiso University men's basketball program has announced its nonconference schedule for the 2025-2026 season, an 11-game slate that features seven home dates and four road contests plus one home exhibition contest.
 
Valpo will host Brescia in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
 
The Beacons will tip off the new campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 4 against Eastern Illinois at the ARC. That game will be part of the BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism. As part of that season-opening multi-team event, the Beacons will travel to Kentucky to play the Wildcats on Friday, Nov. 7 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Valpo's third and final game of the event will be a home date against Nicholls State on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at the ARC.
 
Valpo will play Kentucky, a Sweet 16 team last season, for just the third time in program history and first since 2016-17. Nicholls State, a 20-win team last season and member of the Southland Conference, will be a first-time opponent, while Eastern Illinois is a familiar foe. The Beacons downed the Panthers 81-53 last season in the first meeting since 1996, which was the final year the two schools shared Mid-Continent Conference affiliation. The squads have faced off 37 times in total.
 
The Beacons will host Bryant on Sunday, Nov. 16, the first ever matchup between the two teams. The Bulldogs went 14-2 in the American East Conference, totaled 23 wins, hoisted the conference tournament crown and reached the NCAA Tournament last season.
 
The Brown & Gold will hit the road for the second time this season for a Wednesday, Nov. 19 matchup with Cleveland State, a return trip from a home-and-home that began last season at the ARC between the two former Horizon League contemporaries who have engaged in 51 all-time matchups. The Vikings were 23-13 overall and 14-6 in conference play a year ago en route to a postseason appearance in the Purple College Basketball Invitational.
 
Valpo will battle Southern Indiana on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in a pre-Thanksgiving matchup at the ARC before closing out the holiday weekend by hosting Western Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 29. The Beacons and Screaming Eagles will get together for the first time ever, while conversely the Broncos have provided Valpo's opposition 70 times before, including last season's epic comeback culminating with a Justus McNair buzzer-beater in Kalamazoo.
 
The team will start the month of December in Milwaukee against Big East Conference foe Marquette, which plays its home games at Fiserv Forum, also the home of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Golden Eagles, who reached the NCAA Tournament and accrued 23 wins last season, appear on Valpo's schedule for the 27^th time and first since 2006-07.
 
Calumet College of St. Joseph, an NAIA program under the direction of former Valpo player and assistant coach Jason Hawkins, will visit the ARC on Saturday, Dec. 6. Valpo has played CCSJ twice before, most recently last season. After a week off for final exams, the Beacons host their final home nonconference contest on Saturday, Dec. 13 vs. UNC Wilmington. Valpo is 2-0 all-time against UNC Wilmington, most recently prevailing 79-70 as part of the Savannah Invitational in 2017. The Seahawks were Coastal Athletic Association champions and totaled 27 wins on their way to an NCAA Tournament berth last season.
 
The nonconference portion of the season concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at nearby Big Ten Conference adversary Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. This will represent the 12^th matchup against the Wildcats and first since the 2017-18 season.
 
The Valpo men's basketball program has developed significant forward momentum entering Year 3 of head coach Roger Powell Jr.'s time leading the team. The squad over doubled its overall win total from Year 1 to Year 2 of his tenure, with the 2024-25 season culminating with two Missouri Valley Conference Tournament victories and a run to the semifinal round at Arch Madness. The Beacons have boasted the league's Freshman of the Year each of the last two seasons, just the third time in conference history that award has gone to the same program in consecutive years.

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