COLLEGE BASKETBALL Penguins will play 14 games at home

Youngstown State could host a 15th game if it finishes fourth, fifth or sixth in the Horizon League.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State men's basketball coach John Robic announced a 2002-03 men's basketball schedule that gives the Penguins an opportunity to play 15 home games.
The Penguins play 13 regular season home contests plus an exhibition game (Nov. 9 against a USBL (N.Y.) All-Star Team) at the Beeghly Center.
YSU will also have a chance to play host to a first-round Horizon League Tournament game on March 4, if it finishes fourth, fifth or sixth in conference play under the new postseason format.
The Youngstown State women's team will have a non-conference match-up with Ohio State, a possible contest against nationally-ranked Vanderbilt and three other NCAA Tournament participants.
"This is probably one of the toughest schedules we've ever had," said women's coach Ed DiGregorio, who is entering his 20th season.
Season opener
The Penguins open the season at Bowling Green Nov. 22. The Falcons are the first of six Mid-American Conference schools on the schedule; the others are Central Michigan (Nov. 30), Toledo (Dec. 7), at NCAA Tournament participant Kent State (Dec. 15), Buffalo (Dec. 18) and Akron (Dec. 22).
YSU will play in the Vanderbilt Tournament Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Penguins face Central Michigan on the first day and either the Commodores or Harvard on second day.
For just the second time in school history, Youngstown State will take on Ohio State, Dec. 20 in Columbus.
Robic said he worked on a schedule that was challenging and was a good fit geographically for the squad.
"This year's schedule gives us a good balance of regional teams that we should be able to compete with in preparation for our tough Horizon League schedule," Robic said. "We are excited about playing 14 home games at the newly-renovated Beeghly Center and it will give our fans the chance to see some very competitive basketball."
Over the course of six months, the Beeghly Center has had $2.5 million in refurbishing done to the building and a new $150,000 state-of-the-art sound system has been installed in the arena.
YSU opens on the road at Indiana State on Nov. 22, then plays four of the next five games at home. Sandwiched between two two-game homestands is a road contest at St. Francis (Pa.)
Two members of the Mid-American Conference -- Buffalo and Toledo -- will visit the Beeghly Center marking the first time since the 1991-92 season that two schools from that conference will play in Youngstown in the same year.
Outside of league play, YSU has games at former Mid-Con rivals UMKC and Oakland and a contest at Atlantic 10 member Duquesne. YSU plays host to Niagara for the first time in two years and makes its first-ever trip to Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne in February.
YSU begins Horizon League action on Jan. 2 at Loyola (Chicago). The league slate is highlighted by three straight home games against Detroit (Jan. 23), UIC (Jan. 25) and UW-Green Bay (Jan. 29).
Changed formats
The Horizon League tournament has also changed for this season. The first rounds featuring the fourth through ninth-place finishers will be played a campus sites, giving the Penguins a shot to host their first postseason game since 1995. The remaining rounds of the tournament will be played at either Milwaukee, Wis., or the site of the highest-remaining seed.
Robic said for the 2003-04 season the Penguins already have a game scheduled at the University of Pittsburgh in the new Petersen Events Center. The Panthers advanced to the Sweet 16 last season and have been tabbed as top-five team entering the 2002-03 campaign.