JOLIET, Ill. --- Season No. 52 in the history of the University of St. Francis men's basketball programs tips off with a trio of exhibition games before the beginning of Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play kicks into gear the third week of November. The four-month schedule is anything less than light with seven of the 28 regular-season games featuring NAIA teams either ranked in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll or among others receiving votes in that same poll.

There are also the three NCAA I opponents that make up the exhibition season to keep in mind, as well, during the first two months.  That portion of the slate commences with University of Wisconsin Green Bay on Thursday night.  One week later, USF makes its annual trek to Texas to play St. Edward's University in a pair of games on Nov. 16 and 18.

St. Francis' other exhibition matchup comes on Dec. 19 when head coach Ryan Marks' club heads south to take on University of Southern Indiana.

NAIA No. 14 St. Thomas University (Fla.) and No. 15 Olivet Nazarene University headline the list of highly-regarded clubs, the latter of which the Saints will face twice during the league campaign.  Others sitting in the receiving-votes group are Roosevelt University and Indiana University South Bend, another pair of CCAC opponents that USF will face both home and on the road this year.

The other league teams that St. Francis will face twice as part of the 20-game league schedule include Trinity Christian College, Indiana University Northwest, Holy Cross College, Governors State University, Saint Xavier University and St. Ambrose University.  The Saints begin the league season with the latter club on Nov. 22 in Davenport, Iowa.

Judson University and Calumet College of St. Joseph serve as the other CCAC teams dotting the schedule, both of which the Saints only face once.

USF will also play host to a pair of holiday tournaments.  The Thanksgiving Classic features St. Thomas on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and United International College (Fla.) on Sunday.

The New Year's Classic takes place on Dec. 30-31 with matchups against Campbellsville University (Ky.) and Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.).

The Saints' other two non-conference dates have them hosting Marian University (Ind.) on Dec. 9 and facing Lewis University on the road Dec. 14.

CCAC Tournament play begins Feb. 28 and runs through March 4.  The NAIA National Tournament Opening Round follows March 15-16 with the NAIA National Tournament Final Site being March 21-26 in Kansas City, Mo.  

The Saints went 16-11 overall and 14-6 in league play to place fifth among 14 squads one year ago.  USF also advanced to the CCAC Tournament, where it lost 51-50 in the opening round to eventual champion Indiana University South Bend.  

For the complete schedule, go to Schedule.

Links to live coverage can be found at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on Twitter @USFSaints.