As if Eastern athletics aren’t exciting enough already this fall, the men’s basketball season starts Thursday. That’s not to say the Rick Samuels show will steal any of the excitement or attention that surrounds the success of Eastern’s football program. In fact, it will probably lose excitement.

After coming off just their second NCAA Tournament appearance ever, Samuels & Co. were picked to finish third in the conference and are excited to hit the hardwood again to prove they’re better than their preseason prediction.

And when they do hit the floor, they’ll have to play one of the most demanding schedules of all mid-major schools in the nation, with the majority of those games coming on the road.

In fact, nine of their first 26 games are on the road. And two of those first nine home games fall on dates during winter break when students will all be long gone.

Early in the schedule, the Panthers will face off against five, and possibly six, teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. After hosting cake-walk St. Joseph’s at home to open the season, Eastern plays at No. 3 ranked Illinois the following Monday and then against Georgia Tech in Las Vegas that Thursday.

It’s unfortunate, but the first half of the Panther basketball season could easily get lost in the shuffle. It’s not likely many Eastern students will make the trip to Champaign for the game against the Illini because that takes place the first Monday of Thanksgiving Break. And with students home for that entire week, many will miss out on the action and news of what takes back in Las Vegas.

Wednesday, Nov. 28 might be the first big draw for Eastern when Indiana State comes to town. The Sycamores snuck into the NCAA Tournament last season with a bunch of upset wins in the Missouri Valley Conference.

But the following Saturday marks the first round of the playoffs for the Panther football team. That will likely mean a mediocre crowd at best for that night’s game against