EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball opens 2026 and the Ohio Valley Conference schedule on New Year’s Day with a visit to SIU Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Illinois. The opening weekend of 2026 concludes January 3 when USI visits Lindenwood in St. Charles, Missouri.
The Screaming Eagles (3-9, 0-2 OVC) are hoping the quick road trip can get the team on track after a rough 0-2 start to OVC play. USI could not hold off Little Rock in the conference opener, losing 77-62, and suffered a heartbreaking loss to Morehead State, 64-60, in overtime at Liberty Arena.
Senior guard Cardell Bailey led the way for the Screaming Eagles on the homestand with 17.5 points per game, while senior guard Ismail Habib and junior guard Kaden Brown posted 16.5 points and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
For the season, Habib has been posting 17.9 points per game to lead the Ohio Valley Conference and USI in scoring. Bailey is second on the team in scoring with 14.3 points per contest this season and is averaging 18.0 points per outing in thelast five games.
SIUE (8-5, 1-1 OVC) lost its 2025-26 OVC opener at Eastern Illinois, 76-72, in overtime, but bounced back to defeat Western Illinois, 66-61, on the road. The Cougars are 3-2 in the last five games and 5-5 in the last 10.
USI leads the all-time versus SIUE, 46-25, since the series began in the 1970s. USI also holds a 24-8 lead in conference games, both OVC and the old Great Lakes Valley Conference, since 1995.
SIUE won the first game last year in Edwardsville, 82-76, while USI took the second game at Liberty, 82-68.
Lindenwood (8-5, 2-0 OVC), which is tied for first in the OVC after the first two games, is 2-0 in the OVC after posting a win over Eastern Illinois, 82-74, on the road, and Western Illinois, 92-76, at home. The Lions, which lost to Missouri State, 70-65, in its final non-conference game before the holidays, have won six of its last seven.
USI leads the all-time series, 8-2, after splitting the conference games last season. USI won at Liberty Arena, 80-73, and fell at Lindenwood, 81-78, in overtime.
