The Saint Louis men’s basketball team will bring new challenges and old foes to St. Louis. The non-conference schedule was announced late last week by the Athletic Department. The 14-game slate is highlighted by contests against Georgia, Iowa State, Nebraska and either Northwestern or Notre Dame. The Billikens will play four teams that earned a postseason tournament bid in 2009.

“We are trying to play as aggressive a schedule as we can,” Billikens Head Coach Rick Majerus said in a press release released by SLU. “We have four games against BCS conference teams as well as the old rivalries with Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University. Nebraska is coming to Chaifetz Arena, and we have a terrific game at a Southeastern Conference school, Ga., which has Trey Thompkins, who was one of the best freshmen in the country. Our fans will get to see an SEC team next year as they will return the game here.”

The Billikens, who are in their second season in the Chaifetz Arena, open the season Saturday, Nov. 14, against SEMO.

Earlier, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced matchups for the 2009-10 season. The A-10 schools the Billikens will play both home and away are Dayton, Duquesne and Richmond. At Chaifetz Arena, the Billikens will also host Fordham, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, Temple and Xavier. The full A-10 schedule will be announced today.

In the press release, Majerus mentions his frustrations over scheduling match-ups with schools like Mizzou and Boston College, both of whom SLU beat last season.

“The only reason we are not playing teams like Boston College is because they will not play us . Our hope is that for basketball in the state, Missouri will want to play us again,” he said.

The Billikens will play “virtually every major power conference covered this season with games against the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.”